The specialty of the Sparklewren brand was of course bespoke corsetry; corsets produced specially for indivdual customers: cut and fitted to their individual bodies, designed and embellished to their individual tastes whilst still capturing the essence of the Sparklewren brand. The bespoke commissions spanned the breadth of corsetry possibilities: utilitarian waist trainers through to elaborate bridal ensembles.
Chapter Six: Bespoke
It is my feeling that good craftsmanship echoes something of your soul. Echoes and enhances.
The way you live you life is surely in accord with your environment. The beauty or ugliness around you. There seems to me a sort of aesthetic quality to being good and kind (or the opposite) and so creating, collecting, living within, or otherwise experiencing exceptional art and design has relevance beyond the frivolous surface level. There must be depth to the objects that take up space within our lives, for good or bad. They must have a power to soothe or upset, to in some small way enhance your physical and mental experience of the world. Ideally, to make you a better person.
And so I feel that the benefits I get from my work are, in many ways, the same benefits you get from it.
I am kinder, calmer, and more thoughtful when my life involves creative work. I’ve tried living without it, the results were bad…
And you tell me that the process of collaborating on a bespoke garment is often the best part of ownership. The corset might be for a party or a wedding but it’s the daydreams, the sharing of ideas and thoughts, that brings you the most joy. You tell me that the corset is like a secret. You tell me that this colour reminds you of the particular scent of your homeland in Summer, or that this texture is like the coast where you grew up.
So creating beautiful things only fully satisfies if those things are then handed over to someone else, so that they may carry greater personal significance. If through my work I can let a friend (new or old) feel beautiful, listened to, treasured, then the experience is complete.
– Jenni Hampshire, December 2015
'Twig' Overbust Corset By Sparklewren
Date: c. 2014
Origin: United Kingdom
Fabric: Cotton coutil, silk lace
A bespoke corset created for the model Twig, inspired by her namesake. It is created from a single layer of cotton coutil with the diagonal seaming style a reference to experimental early 20th c. corsetry styles. It is lightly structured with a mix of spiral and flat steel bones, and fastens with a steel busk at the front and eyelets and cotton lacing at the rear.
The corset is embellished with hand stitched, 19th. c. silk leavers lace appliqué, and a black tulle overlay. Jet Swarovski crystals are glued in a branch inspired formation, with further crystal and glass spike beading over the garment hips.
'Love In A Mist' Silk & Lace Appliquéd Overbust Corset By Sparklewren
Date: 2015
Origin: United Kingdom
Fabric: Silk
An overbust corset in ice-blue duchesse satin, a bespoke creation for corsetiere Lucy Emke. It is dramatically shaped, with swooping hip curves, and sweetheart shaping at the bustline and centre back. This corset uses the birdswing patterning technique, inspired by the antique ‘Bird’s Wing’ corset from the Symington Collection held by Leicestershire County Council’s Museums Service. The corset fastens with a wide steel busk at the centre front, and metal eyelets and cotton lacing at the back. It is structured throughout with a mix of spiral and flat steel bones.
The assymetric embellishment on this garment is elaborate: French lace has been hand painted in variegated tones of greys, purples and ivory, and is delicately layered and hand appliquéd in place. Hand stitched peacock freshwater pearls, iridescent sequins and glass seed beads are scattered across the body of the garment.
'Tjarn' Silk & Lace Appliqué Underbust Corset By Sparklewren
Date: 2014
Origin: United Kingdom
Fabric: Silk, cotton, leavers lace
A bespoke creation for Elle Mosbach, named for the Swedish word ‘Tjärn’, after the deep bodies of water that inspired the dark and textured embellishment. Further inspiration was drawn from Scandinavian fairytales and the art of John Bauer, a Swedish painter renowned for his illustrations of Swedish folklore.
The corset is constructed with an exterior of grey silk and lined with cotton coutil, and is heavily structured with numerous flat and spiral steel bones. It opens with a traditional steel busk closure in the front, and eyelets and cotton lacing in the rear.
The corset is embellished with layered black and gold leavers lace appliqué, overlaid with black tulle, creating subtle shifts in texture and tone. There is extensive beading with shimmering glass seed beads across the entire body of the embellishment.
'Shy' Coutil & Lace Appliqué Corset By Sparklewren
Date: 2014
Origin: United Kingdom
Fabric: Cotton herringbone coutil
An underbust corset with a dramatically curved silhouette, crafted in strong but flexible herringbone coutil. This was a bespoke creation for Elle Mosbach, and is delicately embellished with family heirloom lace, forget-me-not motifs that originated from a handkerchief, originally owned by the client’s great-grandmother. A number of the bone channels are hand embroidered with flossing motifs, inspired by historical corsetry. This embroidery style is both decorative and functional, helping to secure the corset bones in place and increasing its lifespan. The garment is structured with a mix of flat and spiral steel bones. The front closure is a traditional metal corset busk, and it opens at the rear with cotton lacing and metal eyelets.
'Wren' Embroidered Cincher By Sparklewren
Date: c. 2015
Origin: United Kingdom
Fabric: Cotton coutil
This underbust corset was a bespoke creation for a former Sparklewren intern. It is made in a single layer of herringbone cotton coutil, with exterior bone casings. It is supported throughout with a mix of spiral and flat steel bones. The corset fastens at the front with a metal busk, and at the back with metal eyelets and cotton lacing. It is embellished with hand appliquéd gold French leavers lace over blue silk chiffon, with hand stitched ‘wren’ embroidered motifs finishing the garment.
Lookbook: Inky Spring Sparkle
A collection of mink coutil cotton corsetry with signature Sparklewren embellishment: layered fine French lace appliqué, draped tulle, freshwater pearls and Swarovski crystals. Captured by InaGlo Photography within the Corset Paradise space, and modelled by Tingyn. The images focus on the dreamy mood the encapsulates the Sparklewren brand, rather than focusing on purely the corset designs, and represent an experience rather than purely clothing.
