NARRATIVE

Ophelia –

There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance.
Pray you, love, remember. And there is pansies,
that’s for thoughts.

Laertes -
‍
A document in madness. Thoughts and remembrance fitted.

Ophelia-

There’s fennel for you, and columbines.
There’s rue for you, and here’s some for me.
We may call it “herb of grace” o’ Sundays.
Oh, you must wear your rue with a difference.
There’s a daisy. I would give you some violets,
but they withered all when my father died.

Shakespeare´s Ophelia is dancing through the throne room at Elsinore Castle cradling a bouquet of wild flowers in her arms. She hands out selected specimens to chosen characters. The room is silent as everyone is stunned by her performance. Laertes, Ophelia´s brother, declares she has gone mad, caused by the death of their father, and Hamlet´s, betrayal.


Insane or deceptive?
‍
‍Has Ophelia gone mad or is she merely hiding behind a mask of insanity? To disguise her awareness of the surrounding intrigues, not to appear as a threat to the dangerous people around her. She communicates her perception to the audience through the symbolic meaning of her flowers.This collection questions Ophelia´s mental health and explores a modern rendering of the young heroine.

CONTEMPORARY OPHELIA

‍deceptive / courageous / intelligent / cheeky / wild / nature bound / sophisticated / multifaceted / ethereal / melancholic / anxious / insane?

SANE INSANITY COLLECTION

DIGITAL COUTURE

These craft driven pieces, made from natural fibres and dyed with flowers caters for the modern, sustainability conscious customer. They can experience the collection in our digital studio. After creating a personalized avatar, they can enter our digital showroom to try on the garments and assemble looks. With the help of body scanning technology, these couture pieces are made to measure without the need for attending fittings.

NATURAL DYEING

Ophelia uses flowers as means of communicating with the audience. Natural dyes communicate a deep connection with nature. The designer forms a symbiosis with their surrounding flora and depends on the seasons. Dyeing with flowers teaches a deep appreciation of nature and craft.

BODY CAST DRAPE

By physically immersing myself, I gain a deeper understanding of a subject. As part of the primary research process, I re-enacted the seated position of Vincent Van Gogh´s crouching woman depicted in “Sorrow” (1882). The plaster cast captures a physical shape of depression, one aspect of insanity. A silk version of the seated pose, created from the pattern taken from the cast, is used to drape on the body. Symbolically, the “insane silhouette” is layered over the sane body, representing the sane Ophelia disguised by a coat of insanity.

SANITY - control / restriction / tailoring / clean lines / menswear elements / stitching
INSANITY - motion / blurr / texure / draping / elements appearing to be falling / lack of support / layering / body cast drape / glitches

HANNAH COOPER - BA COLLECTION