PAPER AS TEXTILE AWARD Value $1200
Corlette, Prue (AUS)
Paper, Pattern, Dress (after Junon)
Sponsored by Anzara Clark. Collector’s edition copies of Anzara’s books Paper as Textile Volumes 1 and 2, plus Premium Patreon subscription.
ABOUT THE work
“My concept is to create a show-stopping gown almost completely made from vintage paper patterns that would look right at home on the red carpet of the Met Gala: the intersection of fashion and art. During the making I realised I had been influenced by Christian Dior’s Junon dress of 1949/50 collection.
“The many thousands of paper gelatine sequins were all individually cut, sewn and glued by hand, with each colour matched to the different shades of the dress. I think I probably made about 100 A3 sheets of gelatine paper and the used different sized hole punches to make the sequins.”
The garment is constructed from vintage paper patterns from The Sewing Basket - a social enterprise where Prue works as a volunteer. The patterns were destined for the recycling bin because they were old, had missing pieces or were heavily duplicated. Some dated from the 1950’s. Each piece has been hand-dyed, massaged with oil, steamed and hand pleated to resemble "fortuny" pleating.
MATERIALS
Repurposed vintage sewing patterns.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Prue calls herself a ‘craftist, designer, maker’. She creates clothes, costumes and accessories for people, theatre, film, television, parades, protests and installations.
After a successful career in journalism, Prue decided to study costume (her original love) and has been working steadily in the field ever since.
“I was one of the milliners to work on the Australian production of Moulin Rouge! The Musical. A highlight of this contract was that my original clay sculptures and subsequent moulds for the Toulouse-Lautrec female ensemble cast member latex wigs, were used as the models for the worldwide productions in the USA, UK, Germany, Japan and South Korea.
She has been on the costuming team for SIX, Hamilton, & Juliet, Beauty and the Beast, as well as many on-ship shows for P&O Cruises.
Prue has worked for Pinchgut Opera, Opera Australia, Bangarra Dance Theatre and her pieces have appeared on stage for World Pride 2023, Mardi Gras, The Voice, Australian Idol, as well as numerous advertising clients and musical artists.