Gallery

'Mr and Mrs' with Miss New Zealand

..................more coming soon.

Photo Shoot with Greg Wilson

.......................more coming soon.

Photo Shoot with Kate Adolph

I was lucky enough to collaborate with the amazing photographer, Kate Adolph for this shoot. I wanted to showcase my newest creations and Kate knew just how to do it. The location was at Waikaiwa beach. I felt it had a great rural New Zealand feeling to contrast with my contemporary dresses, I also liked the juxtaposition of textures. I wanted to show a range of modern ideas and techniques within the collection. My favorite model, Kelly McArthur brought the dresses to life!

Make up by: Brooke Anderson. Hair by: Helen Forster. Photographer: Kate Adolph. Model: Kelly McArthur.

'Mille Feuilles' Dress of a Thousand Layers

The 'Mille Feuilles' dress was in The Dominion Post's Fashion Magazine, 7th of September 2009.

'Wellington designer Helen Forster proves that high fashion and bridal wear can go together in the same sentence. The Massey University fashion graduate has designed a strapless frilled frock for summer, using different shades and fabrics to create a sculptural and organic silhouette. Her inspiration was to create something for the 'modern haute couture; styled bride and break from the traditional of a classic wedding dress. She will be at The Spring Wedding Show, Overseas Terminal Function Center, October 4.'

The dress was also featured on 'Good Morning', 2nd October 2009. It is now a famous dress!

Make up by: Helen Forster. Hair by: Helen Forster. Photographer: Lisa Wilson. Model: Kerry Buddle.

Mend and Make Do: The Wedding Dress
Part One

The Wedding Dress took over six weeks to create and consists of 44 meters of white and ivory fabric in different textures. Duchess satin was the base of the dress with layers of a silk linen blend, organza, silk chiffon, embossed cotton and velvet. The dress was embellished with 1700 hand sewn Swarovski crystals and 20 hand covered buttons.

My final assignment was to make a collection and I chose to focus on wedding dresses. My attention turned to the 1940’s where women like my Nana and Great Aunt shared and re-used their wedding dresses. I thought that this concept could be brought into the present. I made an extravagant dress that I took apart and using all the fabric then created six new cocktails dresses for my collection. The only extra materials I used were buttons, zips and cotton/threads.

Make up by: Helen Forster. Hair by: Helen Forster. Photographer: Emma MacDonald. Model: Kelly McArthur.

This shows the process of transforming the original wedding dress into the collection of six cocktail dresses. Piece by piece the wedding dress comes apart and then each of the cocktail dresses are put together.

Mend and Make Do: The Wedding Dress
Part Two

Dress One was made from the mid section of the corset and had pleats to accent the neckline and hem. 20 covered buttons were used down the center back.

Dress Two was made from the silk linen blend with an asymmetrical neckline of pleats. The top pleat was originally from the embellished bottom panel of the corset.

Dress Three was made from the duchess satin base and has two layers of the veil tulle on top. The pleats create a sculptural neckline that is attached to half of the original corset’s embellished bust panel.

Dress Four was made from the duchess satin base and has 30 meters of tulle from the original petticoat gathered on top. 72 meters of duchess satin was used as a bias binding on the tulle.

Dress Five was made from silk chiffon with the sculptural neckline pleats originating from the hem of the wedding dress. 20 covered buttons were used down the center back.

Dress Six was made from a duchess satin base with an organza overlay. The pleats accent the neckline and hem and were originally from the hem of the wedding dress. Extra Swarovski crystals were stitched under the bust line.