The Gratitude of Dragons: Garments of the Graces
© Copyright Alessandra Kelley
These garments are part of "Second Sights: The Art of Presence", an ongoing project.
"Second Sights" takes inspiration from the classical Greek gods to spur thought and expand our culture's ideas of human beauty and clothing.
These garments offer thoughts about the movement of the human form.
The project blends panel painting, clothing design and construction, and textile painting. Each god addressed in the "Second Sights" project has a painting and an outfit, sometimes more than one.
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The Charites, or Graces, are three gods of grace, joy, beauty, adornment, and festivity. The garments, a long sleeveless dress and a bodice with kimono sleeves, are meant for dancing. They are painted with motifs of phoenixes and dragons, feathers, fire, butterflies and chrysanthemums. |
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The clothing is made from a mix of archaic and modern fabrics, a rough red linen, modern knit cotton jersey, and delicate silk charmeuse. The art incorporates themes of time, recurrence, infinity, sharing and generosity. |
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The bodice is handpainted hand- and machine-sewn cotton jersey, silk charmeuse, and linen. There is light boning and quilted linen stiffening under the central linen panels, front and back. The sleeves are attached only at the top, like classic kimono sleeves. The general cut of the bodice is inspired by eighteenth century European women's fashions. |
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The dress (to be worn alone or underneath the top) is black cotton jersey handsewn with silk thread and painted with metallic butterfly and chrysanthemum motifs. |
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Click here to see the accompanying painting. Click here for the project gallery. |