Emily Bates III

"High shouldered to a degree little short of malformation, the sharp profile, angular as broken glass, save for his protruding forehead' 

'If ever he had harboured a conscience in his tough narrow breast he had by now dug out and flung away the awkward thing." Mervyn Peake. Gormenghast

"This is the third and final costume which I made based on Mervyn Peake's gothic fantasy novel Gormenghast. Emily Bates

"The essence of Steerpike is parasitism; he exists by reason of Gormenghast, invades its privacy and works to undermine it from within, attempting to overthrow Titus and the dynasty he is destined to inherit. Once kitchen hand, now murderer of Titus’s father Sepulchrave, and also kidnapper of Titus’ Aunts, none of this is the least bit suspected with Steerpike having cemented himself as a hero by stage. Poking holes in the portraits within the castle walls he watches the other characters within their quarters through a complex system of mirrors and like a moth coming out of the woodwork he sets to his patient scheming against and manipulating of key figures in the hierarchy, savouring the day when he will be the unrivalled and sole ruler of the castle’s grounds. My design takes inspiration from fifties formal wear and the textiles have reflective qualities which remind the audience of the reptilian nature of the character, as well as evoking dilapidated masonry and the pin pricked holes which Steerpike peers through. The textile used all over his coat and tails is achieved through fusing the grey suiting fabric to a patterned mock tapestry fabric and then laser cutting a circular motif onto it to then peel parts away revealing the fabric's underside. " Emily Bates 

                             (Above) photograph by Alexandros Papadopolous, Model:Themistocles Sima 

"Behind this I then placed the reflective orange fabric which was achieved through foiling a plain cotton poplin. The pattern pieces were then tacked together and sewn as if they were one pattern piece, which proved quite difficult as there were so many layers of fabric to sew through for such a tailored design." Emily Bates 

                            (Above) photograph by Alexandros Papadopolous, model; Themistocles Sima 

"The headpiece is similar to taxidermy domes as Steerpike pierces moths and attaches them to the walls of his quarters. The butterflies/moths are embroidered over the top of a heavy brocade fabric which already had faint butterflies on it (!) I then filled them in meticulously with satin stitch and beadwork, finish them off with millinery wire around the edge to give them structure. Overall I aimed for the costume to have the appearance of being moth eaten, and also covered in tiny insect from afar, returning once more to the idea of Steerpike as parasite." Emily Bates 

Emily Bates II

"Fuchsia is the sister of Titus, heir of Gormenghast. Adolescent and changeable, she is profoundly affected by the absence of a mother figure and finds herself more and more susceptible to the machinations of Steerpike who woos her in the hope that he can elevate his status." Emily Bates

Looking at fifties youth subcultures I have based her character primarily on teddy girls from this period who also felt alienated from the rest of society, as Fuchsia does with the hierarchy of the castle, and also in having to conform to female stereotypes of perfect beauty. She therefore contrasts with Irma's character, providing a different more androgynous femininity that counteracts everything that Irma strives for. The pixellated print used in the final garment is actually taken from samples made for my second project Dr Faustus; the jacket is screen printed with flock and has a layer of red millinery veiling placed on top and secured with beading." Emily Bates 

Emilie's costume and character design came together beautifully with her model Rachel who mixed in her own 'artful dodger' elements to create a very quirky, brightly coloured thief and mischief maker.

Emily Bates I

Above: Photograph by Lawrence Winram below Emily Bates illustration. 

This week I am involved in the ECA fashion show. After blogging the work of fashion and costume students last year I was asked to model for costume student Emily Bates as a character from Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast, 'Irma Prunesquallor'.

Irma is quite a minor character but I loved Peake's descriptions of her within the text. She is a vain social climber intent on finding a husband. I looked at the stereotype of the 1950's housewife as well as 50's millinery, the concertina bustle design stems from the fact that the characters are often described as insect like, crawling out of crevices when they do emerge from the castle walls. The boat on her headpiece also draws from Peake's imagery; she is described as 'veering from east to west in gradual curves like a ship that has no precise idea as to which port she is making for'. Emily Bates

This has been a great experience for me; seeing the evolution of Emily's ideas from sketch through, measuring, toile, alteration and the final incredible costume, as well as glimpsing the creations of the other fashion and costume students.
Over the next few weeks I will endeavour to share some of their outstanding creations with you.