My line, 'Mad Trist', is inspired by a collection of mysterious short stories by Edgar Allan Poe. Each of the five outfits were inspired by and named after reoccurring themes in his work: Fear of Death, Insanity, Subconscious Self, Obsession, and Guilt. The straps and high necks that repeat in the garments represent the feeling of being trapped. This theme repeats in each of his stories. The color scheme is inspired by the icy blue eye in Tell Tale Heart and the dark red represents Death. The name “Mad Trist” is Poe’s ‘story within a story’ in The Fall of the House of Usher. I liked that ‘Trist’ was a version of the word ‘tryst’ which means meeting; the title can be interpreted as ‘the meeting of the mad’.

 

“Have I not told you what you mistake for madness is but over-acuteness of the sense?”-Edgar Allan Poe

 

Note: The two looks shown from 'Mad Trist' that I created, 'Insanity' and 'Obsession', are made from my own original drafted patterns. These garments were used as entries for the 2015 Art To Wear competition. The black printed fabric in the line was designed and printed by me on 100% cotton sateen fabric. The fabric design was made from a picture of bundled rope, altered on Photoshop to look like scratches. The wire and netting cage skirt was crafted by hand.