“Porcelain Dolls reflected the fact that life was fragile and breakable, so were human bodies” – Smithsonian.

Through investigating victorian era porcelain dolls, l became fascinated by the fact that playing with dolls has always been a staple part of any girls childhood. My grandmothers, mother, sister and I all owned dolls. By imagining these women, some much older than I, as well as the women that came before us, as young innocent girls simply playing with dolls, prompted my interest in the chronology of the female experience. Where is it that this childish innocence is lost – is it in puberty, the onset of their sexuality or perhaps after the loss of virginity? In talking with some female friends. it appears that this loss is something almost universally experienced; a real tangible feeling of loss. This is something lam keen to interrogate, and perhaps answer at which point it begins to return. Is it in the reclaiming of their own femininity, sexuality, maturity, sisterhood?

l used drape and tailored manipulation techniques to create strong and structured silhouettes, reflecting the body and mind of a female. I believe that the women in my life and l are connected, through nature and growing up in the countryside, therefore, nature is a vital detail throughout my collection. Embroidery and print creates the idea of something being embedded in you, such as childhood.

I use natural fibres and dead-stock fabrics to design sustainably, as my way to give back and honour the nature, countryside and people that I grew up with.