When You See It…

I’ve had Salen’s book since it first came out, and studied the cover corset and it’s entry in the book quite often. I’ve started building it, as is, and even stayed off my intent to create it with six panels instead of five, as my desire to keep it as close to the original as possible won out over any win I might have obtained with a 6-panel fit. One evening, I had the book open to one side of my desk as I was staring at the channels I’d run so far. Something caught me eye, and suddenly, I knew what it was about this corset that attracted me to it more than anything, and it’s subtle, to me anyway, and this is it: The lines of Panel 2 are cut straight, according to the diagram. Yet, in the interior picture of the extant corset, they are sinuous, curving up and around the bust, and narrowing at the waist. I wondered if it’s just the placement on the waist that creates that effect, or is it something else? I thought I”d have to build a small version to explore it, or perhaps I’d missed some nuance in drafting? I also realized that, to me, these lines look absolutely Art Nouveau. Except this corset is dated 1860.

The Art Nouveau period is most often associated with the 1890’s, but when did it actually start? What prompted it? William Morris and Phillip Webb built Red House and that seems to be one epicenter for movement. The house was completed in 1860. (Source: Wikipedia) However, influences go back to Japanese silk designs and paintings, Whistler’s paintings, William Blake’s illustrations. (In The Nouveau Style, Haslam: 1989.). The botanists of the 19th c. were busy capturing protozoa and plant-forms in order to flesh out their studies, and a natural, swirling essence start to permeate design across all genres from the mid-19th century forward, right up to present day.

So this 1860 English corded corset with it straight-cut Panel 2 embraces the female form by way of the cording that wraps the bust, splaying out in a mock-gusset on Panels 1 and 2, and then Panel 2 forms to the waist, being pulled into the body by the seam of Panel 3. It appears to sweep back out again at the upper hips, but only because the straight cut has been released again and pushed forward by the hip’s spring. The actual curling of its form into the body is an illusion; most likely, just a happy accident. It’s magical, and I love that!