Sunday 22 April 2012

The Duchess

I am currently working on my end of the project and for this I have choosen to do something completely different to my previous work. I am basing my project on the 18th century Duchess of Devonshire Georgiana Cavendish. I seen the film 'The Duchess' which stars Keira Knightley and is based on a true story.



The basic story of  The Duchess of Devonshire she was a celebrated beauty and socialite who gathered around her a large circle Salon of literary and political figures. She was also an active political campaigner in an age when women's suffrage was still over a century away. She is famous not only for her marital arrangements, her catastrophic affairs, her beauty and sense of style and best clothes, and her political campaigning, but also for her love of gambling.Georgiana married the Duke of Devonshire but he did not love her and began a realtionship with a friend of Georgianas friend Lady Elizabeth Foster to whom betrayed the Duchess by doing so. The Duchess then fell in love with Charles Grey who was in the running to being prime minister of the UK at the time. His affair with the Duchess herself an active political campaigner, did him little harm although it nearly caused her to be divorced by her husband.She had a number of miscarriages before giving birth to four children: three with her husband, and an illegitimate daughter fathered by the Charles Grey . Below pictures in order The Duke of Devonshire, Lady Elizabeth Foster and Charles Grey.



I love all the fashion back in those days beauitful dresses, head pieces, style as I would not have the time to create a dress, I have decided to create a cape!! And because I find the story of the Duchess's Life interesting I am going to create the cape around the story of  life by making a silhouette of her and The Duke, Elizabeth and Grey, Grey will be facing the Duchess, the duke will be facing Lady Foster, Lady Foster will have her back to the Duchess and a sign of her betrayal. There silhousettes will be made up of small pieces of fabric, Using symbolism the meanings of colours for example red symbolises love, I will use the different coloured fabric to protray how the Duchess felt for each person/silhouette.