White Raven BTS

I had been experimenting with pure white feathers last year with little success. White feathers are quite sheer and I had issues with the fabric and seams showing through. It wasn’t until a few months ago that I found soft white feathers with the ideal opacity and texture for my dress. These feathers are naturally white and have never been bleached or dyed. I was originally going to pair the natural feathers with a white kona cotton, but the contrast was too stark. 100% Bamboo muslin ended up being the perfect match. It was a natural material with a warm tone and small flecks of beige just like the feathers. They blended together seamlessly. I also created the necklace for this dress. Started off with an old jewelry piece as the base, added delicate chains, and carefully painted the pieces with gold gilding.

For the photo shoot I put together this mini set inspired by The Borgias. I’m currently infatuated with the Italian Renaissance era. The word renaissance (Rinascimento in Italian) means “rebirth” in French. Seems a fitting theme for a pure white dress! Special thanks to Ashley Holloway for letting me borrow the candelabra. Getting the candles to drip perfectly deserves a blog post of its own. I admit I was terrified to have candles lit so close to the new and very flammable feather dress, but it survived without a burn. Whew.

I’ve also been experimenting with Renaissance style hair. I wish I could wear such elaborate hairstyles on a day to day basis. The model, Monique Brigham had the perfect golden Rapunzel hair for this look! Yes, this is all real- no extensions. First I braided the hair, then sewed white pearls into her braids to create this romantic fairytale look.

The finished product! More photos on my Facebook page…
Dress is for sale on my Etsy shop here: White Feather Dress