The suggestive and mysterious details of this striking silk smock immediately captivated me. It has become a most cherished garment, one that I often gaze at and touch, but wear only for very special occasions.
The all-over illustration on the dress is most intriguing. The imagery creates a dreamy journey through life on earth: at the bottom we have sea and stone, crocodiles, frogs and seashells. Moving up, the land-dwelling apes and baboons cavort with snakes and turtles, mingling with the butterflies and birds up through a leafy canopy of trees bursting with foliage. At the top, above the trees where one might expect sky, we have instead a return to seashells. Often the animals' faces are replaced with the bright bloom of a flower. There are no humans depicted, which is remedied by the placement of the body inside the dress, and as the silk is completely transparent, one might concede the overall effect is that of the human as deeply implanted within the many living systems and species that surround us.
Such complicated and bold imagery could be overwhelming. Instead, the pairing of a simple smock-cut with the delicate transparency of the silk renders the illustration as subtle and enchanting. The muted grey and black tones and unusual bursts of bright colour are reminiscent of an old lithograph print, the animals and sea creatures hearkening to an Ernst Haeckel drawing.
The dress is from the UK and the label reads Beyond The Valley. However despite many research attempts, I am unable to uncover much information about the line, and none at all regarding the artist responsible for the illustration.
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