My Sewing Journal: Creating a Minoan Inspired Hand-Painted Skirt

Minoan Inspired Illustration by Roxanne Rodriguez, 2013.

While studying Art History in college, I was continually inspired by art works of the past to create fashion of the future. Today, fashion influenced by art is a familiar concept. The examples of art and fashion in Fashion's Modern History is plentiful. Looking back, Elsa Schiaparelli collaborated with Salvador Dali in 1939, creating several Haute Couture pieces, including her famous Lobster Dress, worn by Wallace Simpson (The Duchess of Windsor). In 1965, Yves St. Laurent created a couture collection inspired by the fine-art work of Piet Mondrian. Recently, popular clothing e-commerce retailer, ModCloth, has created dresses inspired by Vincent VanGogh, with his famous Starry Night Painting printed on the fabric. ​

Elsa Schiaparelli: Lobster Dress

Yves St. Laurent: Mondrian Dress

ModCloth: Starry Night Dress

Examples of Minoan Frescoes

As I learned about the ancient Minoan Culture, which was located on the island of Crete, now in modern day Greece, I became inspired by the lovely Minoan Frescoes that were depicted in my history book. The beautiful hues of blue, brown, and gold, alongside stark black and red, were striking and distinctive...

A Map of Ancient Greece during the Bronze Age.

The word fresco, is an Italian word that means 'fresh'. The term fresco refers to an art work where the artist has used water based pigment applied to the plaster on a wall  while the plaster is still wet. As the plaster dries, the paint that has penetrated the plaster becomes fixed, or bonded to the wall. Frescoes were popular in the ancient world, and were quite common for painting large murals during the Renaissance. Leonardo da Vinci, used this method while creating The Last Supper, as did Michelangelo while painting the Sistine Chapel. 

Here are a few examples of Minoan Frescoes that I found to be quite beautiful, and inspiring: 

Minoan Fresco

Minoan Bull Leaping Fresco.

Conceptualization 

One course that I took in college was called, Survey of Historic Costume. During this course, students studied each era of Western Culture, focusing on the fashion of that time period, and the Zeitgeist (The Spirit of the Times) that influenced that particular  fashion. I found the course material fascinating, as well as the assignments. 

One regularly occurring assignment required us to choose an artwork from the historic period we were studying. After choosing an art work, we were then required to replicate that art work in our own artistic rendition. Then, we were to create a fashion illustration inspired by that art work. While studying The Bronze Age, I chose the Minoan Fresco of women (depicted above), as my inspiration. I then drew this fashion illustration of Minoan Inspired Swimwear. 

Fashion Illustration of Minoan Inspired Swimwear, by Roxanne Rodriguez, 2013.

Creating a Minoan Inspired Hand-Painted Skirt 

Later on, in my college career, I decided to create an article of clothing inspired by the Minoan Fresco of the women, for my final project in Art History Class. For this project we were asked to create something inspired by the Art History we had learned about during the semester. The options were endless. Some students who were working towards a degree in Graphic Design decided to recreate historical artworks through their use of photography, while I myself wanted to re-create an artwork using my education in fashion. I decided instead of creating the Minoan Inspired Swimsuit I had illustrated previously, I would create a Hand-Painted Minoan Inspired Skirt. 

To create this look, I first assembled the front panels of the skirt, made of canvas, and then, laying the fabric flat, I Hand-Painted the Minoan Inspired design using Fabric Paint. I then layered a sheer aqua blue Organza over the painted canvas to create dynamic dimension. I wanted the final look of the skirt to be just as striking as the Minoan Fresco that had inspired me. 

Check out the photos I took as I Hand-Painted, free-handedly, my rendition of the Minoan Woman: 

Creating a Minoan Inspired Hand-Painted Skirt! Hand-Painted by Roxanne Rodriguez.

Creating a Minoan Inspired Hand-Painted Skirt! Hand-Painted by Roxanne Rodriguez.

Creating a Minoan Inspired Hand-Painted Skirt! Hand-Painted by Roxanne Rodriguez.

Here I am wearing the finished skirt during a Student Showcase at my college: 

Designer, Roxanne Rodriguez (pictured Left), wearing Minoan Inpired Hand-Painted Skirt, with her models, at the IADT 2014 Student Showcase.

Here is a photo of the lovely model, Marisa Johnson wearing my skirt on her trip to Greece! 

Photo of the lovely model, Marisa Johnson, wearing Minoan Inspired Hand-Painted Skirt by Roxanne Rodriguez, on location in Greece!

I hope that you enjoyed this Blog Post about my fashion inspiration, and creating a Hand-Painted Minoan Inspired Skirt! I was very pleased with the final result, and have since used the technique of hand-painting motifs on other outfits I have created. 

I would love to hear your feedback, on my Blog Post, my skirt, or what historical art has inspired you. Leave me a comment below! 

Designer, Roxanne Rodriguez wearing Minoan Inspired Hand-Painted Skirt.

I look forward to sharing with you more adventures of fashion creation,
​in my upcoming Blog Articles! 
Until then... Have a extraordinary day! 

Related Links: 

A Photo Journey... My College Career as a Fashion Design Student

Parrot Couture 

My Sewing Journal: A Vintage Inspired E.T. Skirt!