Laura Gordon: 2010

Fairytales and magical happenings...

London Children's Ballet 2011 Designs.

After being shortlisted for the LCB 2011 commission for 'Rumplestiltskin' I decided to design like never before... and pretty quickly realised that Wimbledon didn't quite prepare me for the reality of designing for 'pretty' ballets! Ignoring everything I'd ever been told not to do and avoiding all concepts, i was inspired purely by images and text rather than a concept- scary territory for a concept loving Designer! So here are the images that inspired me and the final 4 designs I came up with... enjoy!

Rumplestiltskin.

Miller's Daughter as the Queen.

Degree Show

The culmination of the most intense 3 years of my life. Late nights, killer deadlines and repetitive strain injury care of the paintbrush but man I'm sad it's over! The past three years have been incredible and I have have met some of the best friends and most talented Designers anyone could wish to meet... thanks to everyone who has made it amazing, particularly Alice Speak who is not only a wonderful Designer but a fab friend who has constantly helped me throughout- i'm so sad our uni time is over!

Les Noces

Kensington Palace...

This costume formed part of a recent parade at Kensington Palace as part of their Enchanted Palace exhibition. After speaking to one of the palace warders I created a costume for 'The Peacock of Display' showing the grandeur and elaborate nature of the palace's facade, creating an extravagant and OTT front which disguised the mundane reality underneath...

Textiles Project...

Just found this image of my final design inspired by my textiles piece... I created a final piece of textiles from which I designed this costume for a Moulin Rouge dancer.

Life Drawing...

The Gambler...

Final designs for 'The Gambler' for Leah Anderson. This project was based on a piece Leah was due to be staging in the Vauxhall Tavern. A progressive piece, building upon each previous performance, these costume develop with each passing performance... building the old into the new- slowly disfiguring the dancer. Encompassing the energy and element of chance and risk present in the script these designs use built in paint pockets which create the costumes through the movement in the performance, creating art works show casing the movement of each show and performer. Using the budget on real money to be built in rather than on extravagant costumes, the element of risk and chance is heightened due to the unpredictability of the paint... will the gamblers lose their money?...

British Neck Stretcher...

Designed and made as a final piece for our body adorned elective this piece is a British equivalent to an African neck stretcher. Built around a traditional corset base this piece is tailored to fit, forcing the head backwards and elongating the neck. The ruff top gives a typically 'British' feel, whilst the back adornment contains 'British' items including a tea set and miniature pocket watch...