Chapter Five: The Corset Paradise
Although the Sparklewren boutique sadly closed its doors in 2013, by February 2014 the brand was ready its next location: a building in Birmingham’s historic Jewellery quarter, which became affectionately known as ‘The Corset Paradise’.
The new location featured a dreamy showroom on the ground floor, complete with gilded panelling, antique furniture, chandeliers and exquisite custom gilded and velvet mannequins showcasing the exquisite creations. Upstairs housed a fully equipped workshop with dedicated stitching, embellishment and drafting spaces.
The location became known a destination location for corset aficionados worldwide: a place of networking, learning, and creating. The showroom space was regularly used as a photoshoot location. Fellow designers would collaborate on shoots, with some brands even using the location for lookbooks.
The move to the new space also underscored further refinement to the Sparklewren aesthetic, and a new dedication to the pursuit of couture. The larger physical space allowed for interns and assistants to join the workrooms.
‘The new premises will be an unique mix of grandeur, decay, and classic workshop.’
– Jenni Hampshire, January 2014
Python Overbust Corset By Sparklewren
Date: c. 2014
Origin: United Kingdom
Fabric: Silk and cotton
A midbust corset in printed silk and cotton coutil, patterned in the signature Sparklewren Bird’s Wing style. The snake patterned printed silk outer of this corset originally formed a dress by the British brand ‘Biba’, and was deconstructed for the corset. There was not enough of this silk available to cover the full corset body, so the rear panels are formed of black silk duchesse. The silk print is further embellished with hand stitched black lace appliqué, metal spikes and multi-toned glued Swarovski crystals.
Sheer Lace Appliquéd Cincher By Sparklewren
Date: c. 2014
Origin: United Kingdom
Fabric: Nylon crin, cotton coutil and lace
A sweetheart topline cincher made of nylon crin mesh overlaid with red tulle, with cotton coutil bone channels and centre back panels. It is structured with a mix of spiral and flat steel bones and fastens at the rear with cotton lacing through metal eyelets. The cincher is decorated with hand stitched lace appliqué and glued Swarovski glass crystals.
'Crimson Skull' Underbust Corset By Sparklewren
Date: c. 2015
Origin: United Kingdom
Fabric: Silk
An underbust corset in a single layer of silk-cotton satin. It is patterned in the signature Sparklewren ‘Bird’s wing’ style, stitched with lapped seams each enclosing a spiral steel bone.
This corset is embellished in a mix of black and metallic gold French leavers laces, carefully hand appliquéd in place. The motifs are arranged at the centre front of the garment to form the likeness of a skull, intended as a tribute to the fashion designer Alexander McQueen.
It was in the new Corset Paradise space that designer Jenni Hampshire rediscovered a love of photography, developing a distinct style that favoured dreamy moods and tones over photorealistic detail. Numerous collaborative photography days were arranged at the space with model and designer friends, with the resulting photographs an almost inevitable conclusion to the creation process.
The Corset Paradise was such an apt name for Jenni’s studio, it was such a beautiful place to feel inspired. It was a place where I learnt a lot, met many other creators… There was definitely a lot of fan-girling at the start, and it gave me the opportunity to get to know and build such strong friendships with other people within this niche community.
– Alycia Hirani of Emiah, former Sparklewren intern
Herringbone Coutil & Lace Appliqué 'Jay' Underbust Corset By Sparklewren
Date: c. 2015
Origin: United Kingdom
Fabric: Cotton herringbone coutil
This underbust corset was originally created to illustrate an as-of-yet unpublished corset making book. It demonstrates the ‘Bird’s Wing’ patterning and construction techniques, inspired by the antique ‘Bird’s Wing’ corset from the Symington Collection held by Leicestershire County Council’s Museums Service.
This underbust also uses a great many panels per side, using lapped seam construction to enclose the spiral steel bones. It uses only a single layer of herringbone cotton coutil fabric, with the lapped seam technique making this a very sturdy garment. It is embellished with layered, hand painted laces that have been hand appliquéd to the garment base. The lace is further decorated with a mix of metal spikes, hand stitched glass bugle beads, and freshwater pearls.
'Nebula' Painted Cotton Coutil Corset By Sparklewren
Date: 2014
Origin: United Kingdom
Fabric: Cotton coutil
A dramatically shaped overbust corset in herringbone cotton coutil, the originally grey textile has been hand painted in purple and mauve ombré tones. Metallic silver paint has been haphazardly scattered across the body of the corset, with metallic silver French lace appliqué, metal spikes and clear Swarovski crystals adding further textural interest. The corset opens at the front with a wide metal busk, and fastens at the rear with metal eyelets and cotton lacing. It is structured throughout with a mix of spiral and flat steel bones. This corset was created as an experimental photoshoot sample rather than as a bespoke corset for an individual customer.
Lookbook: Pythons
Photography by InaGlo Photography.
Modelled by Cassie Rae Wardle.
Lingerie by Rebecca Ansah.
This lookbook was never formally released, and is shown here exclusively for the first time. Shot within the Corset Paradise showroom space, the images showcase both the exquisite corsetry and unique décor. The corsets within this lookbook were not created as a cohesive collection, but were a range of experimental sample designs. The sheer cinchers were styled with lingerie from the now-defunct brand Rebecca Ansah. The creative team comprised of InaGlo Photography and model Cassie Rae Wardle, who had previously collaborated with Sparklewren on the 2013 ‘Birds, Moths & Waifs’ lookbook.
