The pocket on the dress was made from an old Spillers Flour bag,referencing the part of a mother who is looking to nourish her family.
Comming from the pocket( not seen in th closeup) are the handmade Victorian tambour lace flowers used as signs of the joy inolved in doing this....they lead up to the stitched image of the family with the trailing threads, indicating that however hard a mother tries, she cannot always prevent the family from unravelling.

The Two Shows

Of the two shows, New designers was definitely the most interesting for me, and the most rewarding with offers to buy garments from the collection from both private and industry related sources....it didn't take long to decide that the integrity of my work is the most important thing, and however tempting I have decided not to sell into the industry, but to persue the art side. I would be quite happy to do freelance design work for commercial purposes ( we have to eat!), but I really want to continue with the "Exquisite Poverty" project as I think it is more of a beginning now for me, rather than the end and I feel excited about the future and inspired to keep going.