I have spent my summer holidays travelling the country visiting lots of exhibitions and museums. Because of this I don't have much in my sketchbook, it is mostly still in paper, book and souvenir form.
Here is a photo of some of my collected research...
Before i went exploring the country i managed to get some research on collars, cuffs and corsets into my sketchbook.
Here are a couple of images from those pages..
I have managed to get a couple pages of my research into my Sketchbook. These are my Grace Kelly pages and Victoria & Albert pages.
I went to Bath to the Diana dresses exhibition. I really felt like looking at her clothes and reading about her life next to them made me really get attached to her. I started to understand her I thought and had a strong feeling for her. It really made me wish she had never died so that I could feel more connected to her and really try to understand her more. How big was her heart ? Was there anybody she wouldn't acknowledge and make a part of her life ?
I then travelled to London .. here I went to the V&A Museum to see the Grace Kelly exhibition. I found this really interesting because I had heard of her as an actress but never as a Princess. I really enjoyed it there.
Next we went to Buckingham Palace, The Victoria & Albert 'Art & Love' exhibition and the Royal Mews. This was such an amazing experience ! It's not everyday that you get to walk inside the palace and around the staterooms.
At the Royal Mews we saw all the different carriages, including the Coronation Coach which is only ever used for Coronations. We also saw the Coach that Lady Diana travelled in on her wedding day to Prince Charles. This was a pretty fun experience as it is a part of Royal life that is often dismissed and forgotten, but the way that they travel is actually quite important.
Unfortunately, we were not able to take photographs inside the Palace, but I did take one outside from across the 'garden' to prove that I was there. Inside we were taken around the state rooms, including the room where The Queen does all of her investitures (OBEs, MBEs, CBEs and Knighthoods) and the music room where all recent babies have been christened including Prince William and Harry. Also we walked up the golden stairs where all the Royal visitors have walked.
On a family trip to Madame Tussauds London, we found an area full of royal waxworks. I felt it was only right to have a photo with them all and include them in this project.
I know that they weren't real, and the clothes were just replicas of the originals, but I feel as though I been up close to the people I have been researching and reading about in books. I also touched the clothes and got an idea of material and intimate details. I didn't expect them to be there but I am really glad because i've learnt a lot personally from seeing waxworks of them.
Here are a few examples of me and these waxworks...
Because I have not yet finished documenting all of my gathered research, I haven't chosen a specific aspect of Royalty to research further and start designing from.
I have however really enjoyed the research part of this project...
My time will now be spent documenting research and developing design ideas further leading to a Final Design and garment.
