Wedding Dress Made of Human Hair, at the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool - 06.02.13
Liverpool dressmaker - Thelma Madine, wowed the country with her outlandish fashion creations on Channel 4’s reality-documentary Big Fat Gypsy Weddings (episodes can be watched here: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/big-fat-gypsy-weddings). More recently she has been involved in a project with the Artistic Director of Liverpool’s Voodou hair salon (http://www.voodou.co.uk/), Ryan Edwards. They designed and made a wedding dress made entirely of human hair, which is now on temporary display in the Walker Art Gallery.
Despite being situated in the grand upper atrium, alongside magnificent oil paintings by the likes of Soloman J Soloman and Paul Delaroche, it is the shocking pink mass of human hair grabs the visitor’s attention.
Weighting 15 stone and made of 250 meters of hair, hand-dyed and styled by Edwards, Madine designed the focus-grabbing gown as a way of showcasing her creative originality, but also to bring an ethnical issue to the public eye. Hair extensions are becoming more and more popular, but the nature in which the hair is acquired seems to be overlooked. The information plaque beside the dress explains that often hair is taken from people in deprived countries, for a poor sum, and indeed the origins of the hair used in the dress cannot be traced. I think this is a very effective way of informing members of the public that the fashion world is not as glamorous as it seems.
Those with an interest in fashion are sure to agree with my thoughts on the design of the dress. It is beautiful - with its small bodice and enormous skirts. In theory the colour-scheme would seem garish, but in actual fact the blondes, reds, pinks and purples marry well. The cascading curls of hair enhance the beauty yet further.
Since Madine and Edwards’ collaboration, Sunderland hairdresser Jodie Breeds has also designed and made a dress out of human hair. It is on display at her salon, 24 Carat Hair and Beauty (http://www.24carathairandbeauty.co.uk/thesalon.html). Although not quite as eye-catching, Breeds’ dress took only six hours to make, compared to the 300 hours that Madine’s team of eight spent on their creation. Does this imply that they need not have spent all that time on it in order to make their political statement?
Check the Walker Art Gallery’s website for information on this and other temporary displays: http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/walker/.
Despite being situated in the grand upper atrium, alongside magnificent oil paintings by the likes of Soloman J Soloman and Paul Delaroche, it is the shocking pink mass of human hair grabs the visitor’s attention.
Weighting 15 stone and made of 250 meters of hair, hand-dyed and styled by Edwards, Madine designed the focus-grabbing gown as a way of showcasing her creative originality, but also to bring an ethnical issue to the public eye. Hair extensions are becoming more and more popular, but the nature in which the hair is acquired seems to be overlooked. The information plaque beside the dress explains that often hair is taken from people in deprived countries, for a poor sum, and indeed the origins of the hair used in the dress cannot be traced. I think this is a very effective way of informing members of the public that the fashion world is not as glamorous as it seems.
Those with an interest in fashion are sure to agree with my thoughts on the design of the dress. It is beautiful - with its small bodice and enormous skirts. In theory the colour-scheme would seem garish, but in actual fact the blondes, reds, pinks and purples marry well. The cascading curls of hair enhance the beauty yet further.
Since Madine and Edwards’ collaboration, Sunderland hairdresser Jodie Breeds has also designed and made a dress out of human hair. It is on display at her salon, 24 Carat Hair and Beauty (http://www.24carathairandbeauty.co.uk/thesalon.html). Although not quite as eye-catching, Breeds’ dress took only six hours to make, compared to the 300 hours that Madine’s team of eight spent on their creation. Does this imply that they need not have spent all that time on it in order to make their political statement?
Check the Walker Art Gallery’s website for information on this and other temporary displays: http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/walker/.