Adelina

A horrible cold rainy day, so I only ventured out to do the grocery shopping and didn't go out again. So in the dying light of day, in desparation, I decided to utilise Fallback Plan B: if there's no sunrise or sunset, photograph something you've made.

Adelina here is part of a collaborative project, where the two main criteria were: design a dress/garment for famous woman either real or fictional, and incorporate text in some way. My fellow collaborator and I drew up a list of a dozen names. We then each chose six to design. Then we swapped designs. So I made six dresses from my designs and six from hers.

One of the women was Adelina Patti, who was the Renee Fleming or Callas or Flagstad of the late 19th C. She is little known now, partly because sound recording wasn't invented until her voice was past its best.

Extensive internet searching revealed some 'Adelina Patti' paper dolls. Then I went to town and made about eight dresses, based on some of Patti's opera costumes. The dolls themselves are jointed using volvelles, and the dresses are jointed too. They all reside in a accordion book with pockets. The text, reportedly what Patti said upon first hearing a recording of her voice, reads, "Ah! Mon Dieu! Maintenant je comprends pourquoi je suis Patti! Oh oui! Quelle voix! Quelle artiste! Je comprends tout!"