The Way of The World

Last Saturday, Lauren took me to the ECA performance costume exhibit where her marvelous work is on display! The entire exhibit is inspired by the play 'The Way of The World' by William Congreve - so the pieces were reminiscent of 17th century garb and silhouettes. I thought the use of mirrored PVC as the main material of all the clothing was just visually stunning and the innovative use of cut work, pleats and folds was just genius.

Here's Ms. Talented Laurenzo Mcleanster with her fabulous work. I couldn't believe that the entire thing was made out of ONE mirrored pvc sheet. In fact, the entire thing folds into a triangle. :o Amazing, right?

Details of her work. Apparently it was a bitch to get all the proportions of the triangular folds right...but so worth it! The entire piece was just gorgeous.

Another one of my favorites is Sarah's work...and not just because she's my friend. haha! The detail, the cutouts, and the shape of the entire thing is just so well made and beautiful. In fact, I'd love to be dressed in something similar had I been born in the 17th century.

I love love love this piece as well. The construction was just impeccable!!!!

My other picks:

In 1700, The Way of the World was performed at Lincon's In Fields, London. It was Congreve's last play and although it was not a runaway success at the time, it has survived in performance since then and come to be regarded as his greatest comedy of manners. Congreve had a relatively short career as a dramatist, as he was training in law at the same time: his first play was produced in 1693, but by 1700 he had decided to end his writing career. His legal training shows through in many aspects of the play, while there is also a considerable formal deisgn to it. His play also harks back to the comedies of Ben Jonson and far beyond that to the Roman writers Plautus and Terence. But Congreve tries to make his stock comic characters more believable, and his concern is the reconciling of the ideals of moral conduct with the reality of social relations and behavior.

The story concerns two lovers, Mirabell and Mrs. Millamant, and the obstacles put in their way by Lady Wishfort (Mrs. Millamnant's aunt) who wishes her niece to marry Sir Wildull Witwould. Also conspiring against their happy union are Mrs. Marqood and her lover Fainall. The characters operate with singular self-regard, conscious of fashion and their station in society and the figure they cut out in public.

Students were asked to design costumes for these characters, taking the clothes of 1700 as a starting point for an exploration of form and texture, using a single fabric- a mirrored PVC - for all characters. Students also took inspiration from contemporary fashion. In parallel, they explored the textural possibilities of the mirrored fabric, through many experiments in cut-work, pleating, folding, stitching and weaving.

(Source : ECA level 3 performance costume)

Oh, and this was what I wore: