The Widow Maker

The Widow Maker was inspired by 3 things all relating to it’s title; the spider, the killer and traditional mourning dress.

We were inspired by the shapes and textures of the Black Widow spider and the negative connotations connected to it’s existence. The females sometimes kill and eat their counterparts after mating, hence the name and a bite from this venomous arachnid can sometimes cause death.

We tried to effectively display the shapes and textures of a spider by using smooth leather and different fabric manipulation techniques such as tucks and pleats and design features such as weaving, top stitching and panelling to give the outfit the angles and shapes needed.

We were also inspired by the idea of a Black Widow spider being a killer. We tried to show this idea through the use of metal detailing and the armour like angles and shapes used.

The final inspiration for The Widow Maker was traditional mourning dress. In a time where mourning dress was compulsory for those related to the deceased, those most affected by the loss of a loved one were withdrawn from social events and would practice quiet, respectful behaviour, sometimes for years later.

We used the general look of the dresses often worn by widows, which were to be black, conservative and respectful. We used the high collar and cuffs of these dresses but added our own twist by pleating/tucking the sleeves to give the shirt an armour, scale effect.

One more thing we were highly inspired by was the fact that widows often wore jewellery made from hair of the deceased love one, or kept the hair in a locket. We made our own version by braiding a long tail that hangs around the neck like a scarf.