Steampunk Exhibition at the Festival

Just started at Audlem Mill for the Festival is an exhibition of Steampunk costume created by Audlem based costume designer Monique Hollinshead.

Monique says:"Steampunk is a style of fashion, culture, architecture, literature and even music that features retro-futuristic inventions as people in the 19th Century might have envisaged them. My training in the late 1980s in theatre costume making at what was the renowned Mabel Fletcher Technical College in Liverpool equipped me with skills in corsetry, period cutting, tailoring, millinery and prop costume. Steampunk allows me to draw upon all those techniques, whilst not being tied to a literal interpretation of late Victorian era fashion."Although there is an element of dressing up, steampunk is not fancy dress."

People who inhabit this world very much see their outfits as clothes, and not costume. My aim is to make clothes that, when worn, are an extension of the personality of the wearer. I achieve this by not making an entire frock from one pattern with new materials; each outfit has an eclectic mix of found, made and adapted items. My focus is on achieving a pleasing silhouette, using a diverse range of textures but with a unified palette (usually brown!).

"I exhibited a collection of steampunk costumes at Audlem Mill last year. This year I have created a whole new set of costumes, some of which involve taking recognisable figures such as Cruella De Vil and 'steampunking' them. There is no limit to the characters fictional or otherwise that can be given a steampunk twist. I hope you enjoy looking at the costumes; feel free to touch them."

The exhibition is open seven days a week from 9:00 -- 5:00 until the end of July.

Peter and Chris Silvester

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