Save or Splurge?

I was extremely lucky to receive an invitation from Paris Kyne, a master Milliner in Melbourne, to take part in his exhibit 'The Complete History of Lust' which is part of the L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival.

He wanted us to explore, using our particular genre which in my case is costume and fashion, the human tendency to always want more. I decided to explore what fashionistas struggle with every new fashion season- do you save money and buy a replica, or do you splurge an entire paycheck for the latest look?

With that in mind, I created the 'Little Black Discount'.

The Little Black Discount by ~warui-chan on deviantART

I focused on three aspects:

1. The Audrey Hepburn LBD: a classic, timeless piece that every woman is told to have in her wardrobe. 
2. The 'it' bag: in this case, from Chanel.
3. The Christian Louboutin shoes: a definite 'lust-have' for any woman who loves shoes.

Now, everyone has encountered cheap 'Engrish' knockoffs whilst shopping and they can be great novelty gifts or discreet ways to buy into the latest fashion without spending a fortune. I came up with the following design, which parodies both 'Engrish' knockoffs and Louis Vuitton graffiti bags (do pardon the naked Marc Jacobs but I make no apologies for his fabulousness)

(Illustrated by the wonderfully talented Lilly Higgs)

The first part was of course to make the dress, and there came a very sad moment when I stepped back to look at the tailored piece and realize I had to swipe white screenprinting ink allllll over it T___T

Next was to create the Chanel clear bag with a collection of cheap knockoffs inside. Lilly and I used simple cardboard to draw to-scale items. We then laminated it to give it the clear, floating effect.

Inside are:

• Mercedes Benz 'Expensiva' keys
• A 'Blockberry'
• An iPod playing Breakfast at Tiffanys
• 'MAK' pressed powder and lipstick
• 'Channel no.4' perfume
• 'Platinum Pretentious', 'Obscene Express Platinum' & 'Platinum Really Offensive' credit cards (Pretty Woman references!)
• Sunglasses

 Unfortunately I don't have a closeup of the shoes, but they're a cheap pair of shoes I bought and Lilly made 'Sale' stickers to cover the soles.

The finished look!

Save or Splurge? by ~warui-chan on deviantART

Many many MANY thanks to Elias Lopez, who photographed all my work, and Madgalen for graciously agreeing to model for me!