Fashion Design School of Design
Lauren Gunning
My final year personal identity project is drawn from the stories of women during the Scottish witch trails, a time when women were hunted for their wildness. Branded as witches, healers, or seers, they were feared for the very power that pulsed within them, their deep connection to the earth, their knowing of the cycles, their intuitive grasp of life and death.
During the Scottish witch trials, many women were marked as dangerous simply for being different, for not fitting into the narrow moulds cast by their society. Some were healers, others simply misunderstood and all entirely innocent. Victims of fear, jealousy, or superstition. Men in power wrote false stories, conjuring dark narratives of witchcraft and devilry to justify the torture and execution. However, I believe the spirit of these women cannot be extinguished. Though they were bound, silenced, and cast into the shadows of history, their essence still lingers, imprinted into the landscape, waiting to be called back.
Through my work, my intention is to reclaim their stories, to pour soul over the bones of the past, reviving the forgotten women who have never been granted justice. Each thread of natural-dyed cloth speaks of their strength, infusing fabrics with pigments and properties drawn from plants that once grew wild in the fields they walked, from the earth they knew so well. My collection is a journey out of torment, mistreatment and the distorted narratives written to control them, transformed into the light of empowerment. It is a reclamation, a tribute to the women who were not witches, just women, and ‘Quarrelsome Dames’ – those who dared to stand apart.
This project is a personal journey into the dark part of my Scottish heritage, where the shadow of the witch trials still lingers. As a spiritual person, I feel deeply connected to the women who were persecuted for their intuition and their connection to the unseen. It reminds me that their power and authenticity once ignited fear. In reclaiming their stories, I reclaim my own wild, untamed spirit, reminding the world that what was once feared is now to be celebrated.
Works
Quarrelsome Dames
Inspired by the fierce and enigmatic spirit of Lucia Fairfull, who embodies wild mystique and unapologetic authenticity, this collection is a tribute to the essence of powerful women through the ages, particularly those persecuted during the Scottish witch trials. Drawing from the historical craftsmanship of corsetry, each piece carries the weight of a reimagined armour, symbolising resilience and reclaiming autonomy over one’s body and identity.
The corsets are intertwined within biker jackets, a nod to the rebellious heart of rock ‘n’ roll, a genre that celebrates those who challenge the norm and find freedom in self-expression. Together, these elements merge past and present, giving form to the spirit of women who run with wolves and live by their own untamed rhythms.
I use natural fibres, silks, organza, and suede connecting each piece to the earth. My fabrics are dyed with plant-based dyes from St. John’s Wort, and Logwood drawing on traditional methods and infusing the designs with healing energy. This approach reflects the ethos of the modern witch and living in harmony with nature. My collection captures the paradox of strength and vulnerability, inviting wearers to embody their own mystique. With touches of femme fatale allure, each garment evokes a softness in power, an unbreakable bond to feminine freedom, and wildness. This collection is for the woman who seeks liberation, who claims her own path, and who stands as a testament to the courage, mystique, and spirit of rebellion that flows through the ages.
