If it were up to me I would go out everyday in a showpiece dress, even to do simple things like shopping for groceries. I don't have in mind anything too excessive that would catch people's attention for its colours or excessive shapes and volumes, but something stylish that could make me feel powerful. I suppose it can be difficult to balance these two aspects, but I found the perfect dress the other day in the window shop of Glasgow’s first pop-up boutique, Reposition.
It’s the “magpie dress” by Deryck Walker, and, as its name suggests, its inspired by this bird. The main structure of this creation is very simple, the dress is indeed black, with white short sleeves and an asymmetrical hem, but you know how magpies have black heads, necks, backs and upper tail coverts, with white patches on their abdomens, bellies and flanks, plus glossy iridescent blue/green/purple wings and tail? Well, the dress reproduces all these nuances through feather-like elements, sewn onto the garment in cascade-like forms that resemble a magpie’s plumage pattern, while the perfectly asymmetrical dress hem hints at the bird’s long tails.
But these are not the only similarities the dress has with magpies: as you know, these birds have a loud cackle and I guess that all the embroidered elements that reproduce the plumage of magpies on this dress would produce an interesting noise, transforming this very special design also into an audio-tactile experience. The dress is completed by a little headpiece that, worn on one side of the head, can help achieving a complete magpie look.
I know that the magpie’s tail is an indication of the bird’s status in its society. I guess wearing something like this dress would be a stunning indication of the wearer's style status.
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