Would You Rock This?

Voting Results

22 Rock It

32 Not My Style

Total Votes : 54

Illustration Info eyesiq Bones

This piece was a submission for a contest to design a stage outfit for Florence Welch of Florence & The Machine. The concept is that this ensemble consists of two de-constructable dresses that act as a commentary on the beauty and naturalism inherent in the way Florence performs. I designed this style keeping in mind Florence's appreciation for haute couture, vintage-inspired clothing, tribal/gothic/antiquated visual themes. The outer dress, a representation of the performer's outer shell and structure, is constructed out of a stretchy, woven tweed/canvas in a nude/tan color (i.e. much lighter than in this illustration) that has been encrusted with crystals and a few gem stones. The bone structures are firm but plush and wired to glow red in a "breathing" pattern, lighting up and dimming down in a soft, slow pattern. The weave of the fabric is left rough on the ends of the sleeves and at the hem of the dress they are sectioned into fringed tassels that begin shorter in the front and gradually are left longer till the back is long enough to reach right above the floor. The sleeves of this dress also feature a zipper where fringe can be attached and detached. The second dress is pretty much a fitted column of stretchable antique-style lace. If possible, I would prefer the laced pattern to grow larger towards the bottom of the dress, the ends of the sleeves and the top of the dress. These ends are also dip-dyed red. I want the lace to be like veins underneath the first dress. The top of this second dress can be closed up to the neck with buttons down the shoulders. I want the lace to be loose around the neck and chin though to not stifle the performer. When the dress is worn by itself, the shoulder buttons could be undone and the fabric that formed the part of the dress from the shoulders to the neck would drape from the shoulders and bust . The hem of this dress would match the hem of the fringe on the outer dress, but the lace dress' skirt and train section should be much more voluminous right past the performer's butt/upper thigh and constructed so that the hem ripples. When the outer dress is worn over, these ripples are exaggerated due to the constraint and can be styled into ruffles. I felt that extending the sleeves to cover her hands while also having the lace end past the outer dress sleeve had a very puritanical/victorian feel to it. I even debated adding a button detail up the sides of the sleeves to the mid-forearm. Also, the turtle-necked lace was another nod to victorian style. The reason the skirt sections of the dresses go from short to long from the front to the back is due to Florence's performance style. I want her to be able to run around without having her legs constricted or having to move fabric out of her way to get around, but I also wanted her appearance to be this beautiful visual statement. I didn't want her to be the sexy thing in the hot-pants/onesie/skinny jeans singing lead for her "rock band". Florence is a vocal artist and a very beautiful performer and I wanted to showcase that with this outfit.