No contemporary corsetiere can divorce themselves from the influence of historical corset design; despite advances in textile technology, much of modern corsetmaking remains fundamentally unchanged from the techniques of the late 19th/early 20th centuries. This was something that Jenni Hampshire enthusiastically embraced in her creations: studying and refining the shapes and techniques from over a century ago.
Unlike most contemporary makers, Sparklewren’s later corsets are remarkably lightweight. Taking their cue from extant historical design, designs are created from just single layers of coutil or satin and are lightly structured, using ultra fine 4-5mm spiral steel bones. Despite this relatively delicate construction, these corsets retain noteworthy strength and shaping capability.
Alongside the experiments based on the c. 1900 ‘Bird’s Wing’ corset from the Symington collection, Jenni regularly used original historical patterns for her designs, occasionally working on historical reproductions for bespoke clients.
