I have always wanted to have a go at an early mantua – the period is relatively unrepresented, and I simply wanted to experiment with pleating and the look a bit more. Recently, I have been offered a perfect excuse – we were providing accessories for a lingerie shoot, featuring a collection inspired by that ultimate famme fatale and adventurer – Julie d’Aubigny (1670–1707), better known as Mademoiselle Maupin or La Maupin. The lingerie company was non other than Kiss Me Deadly, photographer Iberian Black Arts, and the models were Threnody in Velvet, SINderella Rockafella and It’s Jess. The location – the stunning White House in London, property of a Polish prince. To boot, Gemmeus was sending some pretty spectacular bling to be used in the shoot. How could I say no?
And so a deal was struck – I will provide shoes, wigs, swords, fans, hats etc, all loosely connected with 17 and 18th centuries, and in return we could shoot our own historical stuff in the place.
And so the fabrics were purchased ( silk taffeta for the mantua, silk grosgrain for the skirt) and work started – and in a few days the outfit was ready. The article on making the mantua and fontage is already commissioned by Your Wardrobe Unlockd, so won’t disclose much about the process of making here- but I can post the finished outfit!
Below – a collection of pictures from the day , kindly taken by Pitcheresque Imagery
We were the first to arrive – so we unpacked the delivered goods, and went to explore the house, planning the shoot….
Wigs and extensions galore….
my newest shoes from American Duchess came along for the ride too!
Bling from Gemmeus
And then the proper fun begun
mirror fun – standing hand in hand with myself…
more mirror fun…
And since the theme was La Maupin, I simply couldn’t resist going back to my fencing days – so grabbed the prop and challenged the tog to a fight…
Fight, damn you!
and back to being civilized….
Soon after we finished, the girls were about ready – all suitably enhanced by the arts of Sammm Agnew…
a few behind the scenes shoots….
Jess looking stunning….
Lucas all ready to do his bit as a prop in a role of a drunk/dead courtier…
🙂
girls at play
And even I got put into the KMD bra and girdle and told to play to the camera….. Sammm did a fantastic job transforming me into a perfect extra for a Meat Loaf video – scary as hell, but love the look!
yes…. you did not expect That in a post about mantua, right? 😉
The day finished with a lovely group shot of the team
Many thanks to all involved in the shoot – it was a great day and I am looking forward to see what fantastic images will Morgana have for us!
Hope you enjoyed the post – a bit more eclectic than usual, but hey, variety is a spice of life!
The video from the shoot can be seen here – enjoy!
A Damsel in This Dress 