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THE STORY BEHIND THE CREATION OF THE CHANTAL MALLETT 'WIRE WORK' CHOKERS & WRIST CUFF DESIGNS

~ ORIGINAL DESIGN CONCEPTS Copyright Chantal Mallett.

THROAT CORSET:

The creation of my throat corset design was a result of a challenge I set myself. Friends who had seen my new mask designs were encouraging me to make necklaces / chokers but I did not want to string beads together & create traditional neck pieces & besides there were plenty of gorgeous pieces already available in the market place & stringing beads did not present a challenge.

After mulling the idea of a choker over for a while I decided to come up with a design that would be the perfect choker for me & the perfect signature piece for my accessory collection. I based the design on the following factors:

  1. I like my chokers very ornate & very deep.
  2. I love things that come right up around the neck & under the chin to frame the face, like polonecks & high fur collars.
  3. I liked the way Audrey Hepburn looked in the ball scene in My Fair lady & the neck on the pink dress she wore in the closing scene.
  4. I have always liked the idea of the Elizabethan ruffs.
  5. I love 'wicked queen' collars like in Disney's Snow White. 
  6. I also have always likes the high necks & look of Edwardian women's clothing.
  7. I like the winged collars on men's dress shirts.
  8. I wanted this signature piece to be a marriage of my bridal gown work & accessory work, as corsets were my signature within the bridal wear field, it seemed only right to use a corset structure for the choker design & a corset seemed to encapsulate all my ideas perfectly.

I also drew inspiration from my Antennae Combs design & Venetian mask III & created a piece that would match my sample's colour ways & the Swarovski crystal embellishments:

 

 

The resulting piece, which you can see at the top of the page & by viewing the collection or clicking here , was made up of spines of wire arranged in a similar way to corset boning, shaped to the neck & splaying out onto the shoulders & filled in with finer wire & crystals. In keeping with the corset theme, the throat corset laces up the throat to close. This is a decorative piece so unlike corsets, the idea is not to 'tight lace' & the piece was made to be worn comfortably.

 

CORSET CUFF:

The Corset Cuff design was a natural progression of the throat corset & was made to complement a head-dress for an accessory client. I have since also made a choker for an accessory client based on the cuff design.

 

COPYRIGHT:

All the accessories are copyrighted to Chantal Mallett & are original designs ~ my accessory designs have always been about new ideas, new ways of creating things & innovation & the masks, crowns, tiaras, head-dresses, throat corset, choker, corset cuff, etc. are all completely original design concepts & were designed & made by myself first ~ they are my intellectual property ~ similar designs from other makers will therefor be 'inspired by', 'hybrids of' or copies of my works.

 

   CROWNS + TIARAS + COMBS + HEAD-DRESSES  .  VENETIAN STYLE MASK

NECK ADORNMENT + WRIST ADORNMENT + EARRINGS  .  FEATHERS + FLOWERS + EVENING BAGS

lord of the rings inspired head-dresses   .  vintage revival / object trouve