Work / Paper Doll
Paper Doll
- Role
- Costume Design & Making
- Year
- 2022
Full view of the 'Paper Doll' costume, featuring a dress and mask constructed from book pages, fabric, and makeup, worn outdoors.2022
About
Personal project — experimental non-textile construction.
“Paper Doll” is an experimental piece built entirely from non-textile materials — the pages of discarded books, fabric and makeup — testing how far a costume can be pushed away from conventional cloth.
The skirt is made from hundreds of book pages folded into cones and riveted together; the strapless bodice was formed by wrapping the torso in tape, sticky-side out, and layering torn pages onto it. The mask began as a foil mould of the face, built up in paper mache and finished with painted makeup and false lashes.
The result is a sculptural, literary costume that reads as couture from a distance and as reclaimed paper up close.
Costumes
Full view of the 'Paper Doll' costume, featuring a dress and mask constructed from book pages, fabric, and makeup, worn outdoors. Close-up of the 'Paper Doll' costume, featuring torn book pages applied to the face with dramatic eye makeup and a drawn eye. Full-body view of the 'Paper Doll' costume, featuring a strapless bodice and voluminous skirt crafted from book pages with a paper mask on a brick staircase.
The finished paper dress, in motion.
Process
Dress form displaying the costume bodice and skirt made from folded book pages during construction.
Mannequin displaying skirt in progress, constructed from numerous folded book pages attached in conical patterns with rivets. Paper mache mask over face foil mold crafted from book pages with false eyelashes. Detail of paper mache mask crafted from book pages, featuring false eyelashes and painted cosmetic details.
