The Tartan Corset

At the Oxford Conference on Corsetry 2014 I was proud to work with corset model Threnody in Velvet in presenting my Tartan Corset. I have long thought about doing a Celtic inspired corset and this seemed to be the perfect opportunity to see what I could come up with. Quite off my radar as I was developing this corset were two events that would place Scotland and its culture in the forefront of much of the world: First was the marketing and premier of the “Outlander” TV series based on the much beloved book series from Diana Gabaldon. Second and arguably far more important was the vote on Scottish independence.

Ever since taking a couple Celtic Studies courses at university I seem to always be dabbling in some part of Celtic culture: reading Celtic history and literature, teaching and performing Irish folk dancing, living two years in Brittany, married in my kilt. Further influenced by the fact that so many designers have explored the use of tartans in various parts of their careers, most notably my beloved Vivienne Westwood who has made it a hallmark of her long career, I decided on the “great kilt” as my stylistic reference.

The actual silhouette for the tartan corset was developed as part of my first collection for the soon to be launched deux lunes corset brand. It had initially been inspired by a rather avant-garde top that I tore from the pages of (American) Vogue magazine. After draping the initial shape I went through three fittings with a private fit model to find a pleasing compromise between the architectural nature of the top and the shaping associated with a corset.

The resulting corset has twelve panels and twenty-four bones. The prototype was developed with a busk, but the final design precluded using one. The fashion fabric for the body of the corset is a plaid silk dupioni. Draped across the body is a medium weight wool tartan, the traditional fabric for kilts.

In styling the shoot I decided to have the model wear my personal “sgian-dubh,” the small knife traditionally worn with a kilt and tucked into the hose. To accommodate this I created two buckled garters with the same silk fabric as the corset.

This corset silhouette has been one of the most fun for me in designing it. And it will be given a second, rather wintry, life in an entirely new fabrication this fall with the official launch of deux lunes.

All photos Corset, garters, knickers: deux lunes – Photography: Chris Murray – Model/Hair/Makeup: Threnody in Velvet

This post was originally published in Stitched Up Corsetry September 2014.