June 2013 marks the anniversary of the Queen's coronation. A notion of the dress has been recreated and put on display at a cost of £50,000 pounds. They said it was impossible to recreate the exact dress today! I thought I would share with you some pictures of the actual embroidery on the dress.
Norman Hartnell drew several designs for the Queen. It is said that she had a clear idea of what she wanted. She wanted white satin with coloured embroidery. The design chosen incorporated all the floral symbols of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. In this picture you can see the pale pink rose for England, the yellow mimosa wattle flowers for Australia, the silver and green ferns for new Zealand, the golden wheat for Pakistan and the Canadian maple leaf.
It also had pale green leeks for Wales, green and silver shamrocks for Ireland, pale purple and amethyst thistles for Scotland, pink and silver proteas for South Africa and mother of pearl lotus flowers representing India and Ceylon.
The drawing, in watercolour and bodycolour over pencil, shows the detail the full-skirted gown with the tiers of rich embroidery. They say the sketch was probably drawn by Ian Thomas, Hartnell's assistant, who went on to become a successful couturier in his own right.
It is said to have taken 8 months to produce. A team of 3 dress makers and 6 embroideresses.
It must of been heavy with the amount of fabric and beading.
The Queen is said to have commented the first time she tried it on that the embellished creation was "Glorious"
This was the busiest time for Hartnell, he did the Queen Mother's outfit and the principal royal ladies also many of the peeresses.
Don't forget he did the Queen's wedding dress and many of her outfits for years.
He brilliantly contributed to British fashion.
No comments:
Post a Comment