It's been a few weeks since the “Greatest Show”, and we are still beaming with excitement from watching our team strut the runway. The costumes and the atmosphere were absolutely amazing. IIDA of Tennessee did a fabulous job of making the “big top” come alive for the night! The show was at the Nashville Zoo, with carnival games, carousel rides and circus acrobatic performances. Our team worked on this project since June, so seeing the vision come to life on stage was magical. Each team involved was matched with a sponsor to create a garment using only the materials from the sponsor’s company. Our team’s theme was “snake charmer” and our sponsors were Tiffany McKinney and Hannah Whalen from Kimball International, (Kimball, Etc., Poppin’, Interwoven and National Furniture). The team started meeting once a week, creating the design of the garment and overall story concept.
The team took influences from the early 20th century circus snake charmers and from Dior and Alexander McQueen. They wanted something Avant Garde and couture looking. They came up with a mesh-like wrap skirt with a corset that had a bright green leather snake wrapped around it. Both the bodice and the skirt would be covered in “scales” made from sample pieces of upholstery and laminate furniture. They hand stitched beaded ball and chain linked pieces onto leather and used fabric snaps to create a winged look that would remind you of something Elizabeth Taylor wore in “Cleopatra”.
The team continued working on the lining of the skirt; they used an ombre green and gold glitter fabric and a grade 3 vinyl Silvertex for the construction of the snake. They were given the idea from a family member who told them about using a plastic tubing hose, (used in cars), and a wire hanger to create a snake like structure inside the vinyl material. They also began the hand stitching process of the small rectangle scales, which took over two weeks to complete. The team divided up and worked outside of work hours to hand stitch and sew the garment together.
Not only was the team to prepare a garment, but also prepared an audio and visual presentation and hair and makeup concepts. The team used Hope Tala’s “All My Girl’s Like To Fight” as the song for their video and runway performance, and they took images of varying snake scenes from famous movies and videos. The song had a lot of “charmer” elements and rattlesnake noises to tie into their theme.
Some last minute additions to the skirt were added a few days before the show when the team realized the bottom of the skirt needed some weight to it and a little more detail on the hips. The team used laminate samples in the lining to keep the skirt from scrunching up when the model walked, it also added bonus snake-like sound effects! The team added in ball and chain pieces to the skirt’s sides for a more edgy detail, giving it that 1920-30’s charmer vibe.
The team’s overall idea really came to life from that initial sketch. They really tried to methodically think out every part of how they were going to make it work. They are definitely proud that they only had to change minor parts and for the most part went exactly as planned.
We are so proud of our Threads team for really dedicating their time and creativity to this project. Working in a group of eight people, especially all with creative minds, could have been challenging, but the whole team valued each other's opinions and gave an homage to each person’s vision.
Congratulations to Charmed & Dangerous! We look forward to working with IIDA TN and Threads in the future.
Credits:
Team: Kat Sharkey, Ashley King, Taylor Puckett, Morgan Ridgely, Emily Allman, Sydney Blackman, Hannah Whalen and Tiffany McKinney
Model: Sydney Blackman
Sponsors: Tiffany McKinney (Kimball International) & Hannah Whalen (National Furniture)
Jewelry Sponsor: Kendra Scott, Hill Center/Nashville
