Object 003: The Highland Mess Dress
During my trip to Dundee for the Graduate Showcase, my daughter and I went to the Catwalk exhibit and I saw this photo of Alexander McQueen's robotically-spray-painted dress in 1999. The dress was finished in the moment for everyone to see, no planning of how it would turn out.
I'd already been thinking a lot about how I'd express my life in the Highlands through clothing, if I could. Within minutes my daughter and I had come up with "The Mess Dress" - a blank canvas to record the stains from every day life in the modern Highlands.
I was brainstorming the whole way home on the bus, making notes and looking at the landscape as we got close and closer to home. Then I started thinking about the name -isn't there something like this already?
It turns out Highland Mess Dress is a real uniform worn for ceremonial military events. I need to look into it more but my dress will very much be the opposite of this, and I love that!
I'll be documenting its life this winter, probably til about Spring time or when I feel it's done.
It took me a few days to make around work and kids. I used an old, but very lovely, Egyptian cotton sheet I got at a charity shop in Inverness at some point.
I noticed there was a very slight black scuff on the fabric, which ended up on the shirred back of the dress.
I'm using this as a practice piece for a later project with some very expensive illustrated fabric I've been too scared to use. The elastic back is super comfy and the double layered skirt with pockets feels so voluminous. There's a few adjustments to make but I think it'll be great for what I had in mind.
I started feeling a bit anxious towards the end of the dress and I realised it's because I have been working on this for hours, carefully pinning things right where they need to go, unpicking things and redoing perfectly, pressing all my seams and trying not to get my sewing snacks on it.
Now I'm just supposed to go fuck it up? 😬