Vipers in the Ivy - Fantasy Suit Project

Project Title: Vipers in the Ivy

Project Start Date:

Project End Date:

Project Description: This project was first conceived of well over a decade ago when I first began my explorations in weaving fabric for use in sewing. At the time I knew VERY little about proper suiting/tailoring techniques, but I had a dream and a sewing machine.

Fast forward to 2023, I had finally decided to begin the redemption project for Vipers in the Ivy. I had more skills, both in weaving and in sewing, and I had a clearer vision of my final project and the narrative surrounding the project.

The initial concept was a take on the Victorian silhouette; strong lines and well fitting darts. This first iteration also came on the heels of my binge-watching of Penny Dreadful. My fascination with that era, primarily it’s fashion and cultural/scientific revolutions, has kind of always been there. There is so much duality in that time; the class divide had widened with the recent industrial revolution, scientific exploration was at a new height, all the while mysticism and pseudoscience also blossomed. The fashion is refined and well-tailored, both modest in covering the whole body, and yet silhouettes hug curves and define “ideal body types” of the time. The buttons, corsets, hooks and eyes, and layers upon layers of fabric also creates an interesting dynamic of feeling the need to be released from the fabric traps, while needing to maintain decorum. (tis a taboo to even think of what lies beneath all those layers)

With that in mind, Vipers in the Ivy is the concept of something dangerous yet alluring lurking below the surface, hidden in plain sight. The first woven fabric I made all those years ago, was a fairly simple zigzag twill pattern in a medium grey base, with chartreuse green pattern threads. These lines were meant to symbolize snakes and ivy. The overall fabric was heavy, though quite cozy, and in the end would have made for a different finsihed project all together. I still like how that first jacket turned out, though I see ALL the flaws, I can appreciate the initial idea and I respect my youthful audacity of jumping in to a project with reckless abandon.

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When it came time to listen to the gnawing thought at the back of my brain “redeem the Vipers in the Ivy project” I knew that if I were going to undertake this project, I needed to take it seriously - plan everything, make mockups, etc. Wouldn’t ya know, it worked… Let me introduce you to the redemption arc for Vipers in the Ivy: