​I love attending Napier's Art Deco Festival and it was such an exciting prospect to be co-hosting the 2019 Best Dressed Contest held at the beautiful beach front Soundshell, but what to wear? Napier’s iconic outdoor “music shell” has seen many fashionable events over the years, including the Costumes and Coiffures contests at the Art Deco Festival in recent times, as well as fashion parades and bathing belles contests held in the seaside city’s past. 

One of Napier's famous Bathing Suit Competitions in the 1930's

Many people put so much time, love and care into making or styling outfits for these contests and it’s always an honour to help showcase the talents of vintage fashion lovers. I definitely didn’t want to let the standard slip while I was wielding the mic on stage, particularly as the focus of the Festival in 2019 was Fashion and Style. No pressure then!

I was very keen to work with some talented local makers to come up with an outfit that was both stage-worthy and well suited to the Festival’s focus. I’ve been collecting and wearing vintage for many years and I love poring over art deco reference books, old magazines and getting lost down a Pinterest-hole for inspiration, so it was with great pleasure that I started to research ALL the possibilities.

I came up with an idea for a gown inspired by Elsa Schiaparelli’s Lobster Dress that was a design collaboration with artist Salvador Dali. Wallace Simpson wore this dress for a Vogue photoshoot in 1937 and it’s been on Art Deco fashion inspiration boards ever since. I’m a huge fan of fashion surrealism and the avant garde design movement that this dress was inspired by and which gave birth to such gems as the “Shoe Hat”, the “Skeleton Dress” and other flights of fanciful imagination.

​The key elements that I loved about this particular dress were the deep deep hem, the ethereal silk organza fabric that the dress was made from and the very obvious juxtaposition of an evening gown with a giant sea creature slashed across the front. It’s a very strong graphic image and I thought it would work well on stage but I was keen to put my own spin on it. 

​I was considering what to replace the lobster with and then a snake came to mind. I’ve been obsessed with serpents for some time and I love the symbology of rebirth and transformation that surrounds them. I’d also recently acquired one of Estelle of Brighton’s incredible novelty bag creations in the form of an Apple. This got me thinking about Eve in the Garden of Eden being tempted to eat forbidden fruit by a cunning snake.

​A bit of a tangential reference I’ll admit, but I really liked the idea of a hand painted Eve-worthy Temptation Gown that played into the surreal side of fashion!​​

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​To bring this idea to life I had no hesitation in contacting local Napier designer Tammy Twinkletoes. Tammy recreates fashions of the Art Deco era for international customers, her attention to detail and sense of colour is exquisite and I’ve spent years admiring her work. I got in touch in August 2018 and she was so enthusiastic about the commission. We conversed over the next six months about fabrics, measurements, hem widths, silk painting and all the other exciting detailed decisions one gets to make when you commission a custom piece. It was so much fun! 

​I asked Tammy share her process for making the Temptation Gown. ​

“When I was asked to make a replica of Schiaparelli's famous lobster dress I knew I needed the expertise of local artist Christie Wright to bring Dali's artwork to life. However, the dress behind the artwork is deceptively simple, so getting the fit and finish perfect was my priority.
 
I started by padding the mannequin to Rose’s measurements and draping a pattern over this. That got transferred to paper and cut out in an acetate lining fabric to test the fit. Happy, I cut out the real thing in a beautiful silk organza and the mid-section was hand dyed to achieve the striking red colour required. 
 
Each join was carefully French-seamed, neckline and armholes finished with the narrowest of bias binding and the side closure created with hooks, loops and snaps to keep as accurate to the originals construction as possible.”

​After Tammy had created the dress, but before it was painted, I went down to Napier to try it on. Due to Tammy’s careful design process, the fit was perfect and I was thrilled with the result. I also got to meet Christie and we discussed the placement of the serpent which was crucial to the overall look. I was terrified by the thought of painting onto a silk dress, but after meeting Christie I was confident that she was the right person for the job and I was thankful that an expert was going to tackle that particular challenge! 

Christie said of the process;

“This was my first time painting fabric. Scary knowing every mark you make is permanent. The challenge was making sure I placed the snake so it worked with the drape of the dress. 
 
Then I placed the dress flat over baking paper and took to it with liquitex inks. I used layers of inks and a big mop head brush to create expressive, bold, textured lines to give the serpent some movement. The green leaves were a joy to paint using just a few careful strokes with the mop brush then a tiny brush to add some detail. The process was fun and rather addictive.”

I couldn’t have asked for a better creative team to bring my vision to life. A huge thank you to Tammy and Christie for being so wonderful to work with. If you would like to commission a special outfit or artwork, I would thoroughly recommend them! It was a dream to wear on stage with the light as a feather silk organza and hand painted serpent swirling around me gently in the breeze. ​

​I’m also very grateful to Kevin Bridle Photography for capturing me in the Temptation Dress. Kevin photographed everyone’s amazing Best Dressed Contest outfits this year and created a beautiful record of the contestants looks. Click here to see all of the outifts on stage and if you find yourself in Napier and would like some stunning portraits taken, you can get in touch with Kevin here.

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​ROSE'S TOP FIVE TIPS FOR COMMISSIONING A GOWN
 
1. OCCASION
Think carefully about the occasion that you will be wearing the gown – the time of day, the season, the theme or focus of the event you will be wearing it at, what accessories you will need and if you will need another piece to keep you warm or covered that goes with the gown.

2. RESEARCH
Do lots of research on the period that you are inspired by. Think of the silhouette and key shapes for that particular design period and consider what will suit you and your personality best. Make a design reference board and share this with your designer.

3. MEASURE
Take lots and lots of very accurate measurements. Your designer should request a long list of measurements and if they don’t, it might be worth finding another person to do the job! As you’re commissioning a garment just for you, it should fit like a glove and be tailored exactly to your specifications. It will be a big investment so don’t accept anything less than the best… you deserve it!

4. UNDERWEAR
Discuss underwear requirements with the designer and wear these to the fittings so that it will work seamlessly with the gown and not interrupt the line.

5. FIT
Fittings are key to getting your gown just right. Make sure you leave plenty of time to have your gown made and if you can, do at least one fitting in person with your designer so that any changes can be easily made to the dress before it’s too late!

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