Date: c. 2015
Origin: United Kingdom
Fabric: Cotton coutil and lace
Brand: Sparklewren
A dramatically curvy underbust created from black cotton coutil, and profusely embellished with hand stitched lace appliqué. The corset is heavily structured with a mix of spiral and flat steel bones, with each lapped seam encasing a bone. It fastens with a steel busk at the centre front and eyelets and cotton lacing at the rear.
A base of hand painted French chantilly lace is hand stitched flat to the garment body, with organically asymmetric placement. This is then overlaid with a textural ‘falling blossom’ style of lace appliqué, where a metallic cotton English lace has been hand painted and stitched three dimensionally.
Jenni Hampshire began creating corsets under the moniker ‘Sparklewren’ in 2009. The designer’s background in Fine Art has resulted in a body of work akin to wearable sculpture. Historically inspired silhouettes and construction techniques are paired with lush, opulent embellishment and couture construction techniques. The brand specialised in one-of-a-kind heirloom garments, with each garment taking weeks of carefully considered embellishment and craftsmanship.
Kindly loaned by Clare Sharpe
