carnivale - illustrations

The main idea came to me last year, when I remembered that the first thing I used to draw obsessively was an harlequin head popping out of a box. Then came the fascination for the Carnivàle TV show from HBO, the movie was the main inspiration for my collection's title and for the freak show concept. Other major sources of inspiration were Cirque du Soleil (you have to view the intro) and Carnivàle Lune Bleue. After reading about Cirque du Soleil, it became one of my biggest dreams to see one of their shows live. They combine acting with circus acts, always have new concepts and tricks, and their music is always live.

I felt that the world of circuses and carnivals gave me all the freedom I needed to express my view of the world, colourful and sarcastic.

The fabrics I used were satin, taffeta, wool, elastic doc, tulle etc. The colour palette was made from green, fuchsia pink, red, violet and purple, and the eternal black and white. I used cotton, tulle and sponge to create volumes and shapes and decorative stitches for detailing.

I'm probably fed up with the collection by now, it was a nerve wrecking period, but in the end very fun to work at and very satisfying when seeing it on the runway. Enjoy the schetches until the photos come.

watercolour and crayons on grey textured paper 21 x 29.7 cm

♥