“Gillian Patterson creates bespoke body accessories, inspired by corsetry, armour and fetishism.”

Patterson’s aim is to show the alluring, yet domineering and powerful characteristics women possess through dress. Her designs take inspiration from the traditional view of a women’s desire to conform to be a certain shape, in order to be attractive to the opposite sex. Historically to achieve this perfect shape, women laced corsets up to control body shape, even whilst enduring extreme degrees of physical discomfort. It is this constricted and forced feminine shape combined with the exaggeration of the female form, which inspire Patterson. Corsetry and it’s associated restrictive connotations combined with armours relation to defending and protecting the body are the bases of her designs. Combined with connotations of fetishism and the sexual subculture of rope bondage, her work draws attention to the sexual aspects of the body while simultaneously restricting access to it.

Through the act of shibari rope bondage, the accessories are attached to the body with elaborate knots and ties. These rope creations are not permanent and therefore each time the pieces are worn another form of shibari rope bondage must be performed. This artistic vision is born from the collaboration of two people, jointly conceptualised in work using the body as a canvas.