Unconventional Materials Project
When given the task to create a garment out of unconventional materials for a class project, I decided to make a dress out of MAC makeup bags. The requirements for the project were that we had to create a garment of unconventional materials only; absolutely no fabric at all. Our designs had to be completely original and could not have been copied from the internet, magazines, etc. The garment also had to be functional, this meaning that there had to be a functional way to get in and out of the garment (zipper, buttons, snaps, etc.). Lastly, our choice of material needed to have significant meaning to us personally. Whatever we chose needed to be something that represented importance to us. With all of these things considered, I began brainstorming what I wanted to do for my project.
I have loved makeup from a young age, so I knew that I wanted to incorporate makeup into my design somehow. My passion for makeup started the summer between my seventh and eighth grade year in junior high; I have a very fond memory of my mom taking me to the MAC makeup counter to buy my first set of makeup. I will always remember her taking me and asking the lady at the counter to help me pick out some things. The lady helped me put on makeup and showed me how to apply everything correctly. I loved the power and ability makeup had to completely transform people. I understood that the point of makeup was not to cover anything on my face, make me look better, or try to change myself. It was a form of art and self-expression and I appreciated that. Throughout the rest of junior high and high school, I would spend my Friday and Saturday nights in my room watching makeup tutorials and experimenting with products, instead of going out with friends. I didn't mind seeing social media posts of everyone else out on the weekends, I was more content at home doing something that I loved. All of that being said, it was clear to me that I wanted to base this project around the first form of self-expression that I ever fell in love with!
I decided to use MAC makeup bags specifically, because MAC was the place where my mom first took me to get makeup. I love that they are black and white and they created a great shape for the dress. First, I started with sketching out the design that I wanted. I then took chicken wire and formed it around the mannequin so that I could attach the makeup bags onto the chicken wire and it would hold the shape I wanted. I started attaching the bags to the chicken wire by sewing thread into the paper bags and looping it around the wires. I added layers of more bags onto the skirt of the dress then the base of the dress was complete. I then cut the back of the dress open in order to insert a zipper. I stitched the zipper into the makeup bags, then I just had to add the last details. I made a belt out of cotton pads that I stitched together one by one, finishing it with a hook and eye closure. I made a matching choker the same way; layered cotton pads with a hook and eye closer. Connecting the choker with the rest of the dress, I added makeup brush details using wire to hold the ends of the brushes in place.
This project was so meaningful for me and I was so honored when Jamie Atlas, the chair of the fashion at Belmont University, asked me to leave my work in the studio for display. Countless hours of hard work and creativity went into this garment, and I was so pleased with the way it turned out. This project was a reflection of the joy that makeup has given me, and makeup will always remind me of the memory I will never forget that I made with my mom the day she took me to buy makeup for the first time.