Beautiful take on a bloody battle
The fashionable result of more than 100 hours of work and study has gone on display at Wellington’s National War Memorial, just in time for the start of this year’s World of WearableArt event.
Over the past eight months, Queen Margaret College student Sophia Crestani has spent every spare moment crafting a garment inspired by the 1917 Battle of Passchendaele.
The two-piece design, entitled The Fallen, represents the significant loss of life during that battle through her use of dozens of lasercut soldiers.
‘‘So many lives were lost in Passchendaele so I wanted to do a lot of soldiers to show the scale of that.
‘‘I think the laser-cutting was a really cool way to incorporate a modern technique into a historically significant project.’’
Passchendaele is still known as one of the greatest disasters in New Zealand’s military history, with 60 Kiwi soldiers wounded and 843 killed. Its centenary will be marked on October 12.
Crestani said it was a subject she hadn’t known a lot about before beginning the project but one she had enjoyed learning about during the design process.
‘‘I don’t do history as a subject, so it’s been quite cool for me to learn more about it.
‘‘Passchendaele was a place full of life and nature before the war but it was turned into a bloody, muddy mess.’’
Queen Margaret College head of technology and teacher Barbara Knight said the yearlong project was a good way for students to think beyond simply creating a garment.
‘‘It allows them to research the First World War but within an artistic way, incorporating it into something they’re quite interested in.’’
Crestani’s piece isn’t the only studentmade garment on display in the city, with Te Papa also hosting three outfits inspired by the elements.
Isabella Moon made her garment out of denim, inspired by a ceramic bowl in the museum’s collection as well as the sea.
‘‘Mine is designed to look like literal waves, so I was able to create an ombre effect with the jeans and the look of seafoam using paper doilies.
‘‘My main focus was on making it sustainable so I recycled a whole bunch of jeans that were donated to me – about 40 pairs all up.’’
Two other designs, inspired by the sky and Earth respectively, will also be on display at the museum during this year’s WOW celebrations. Crestani’s garment will remain at the National War Memorial until November.