A Summary of my project
I am raising money to continue my passion for creating wearable sculptures this money would help me pay for a fashion show i have been planning for a while consisting of working class designers and their work it would take place is in a derelict catholic church, coming from a working class background i really experienced struggle growing up and see it around me continuously. I think art and culture and fashion should be accessible to everyone and every opportunity we get i think should be to hold hands and pull up other working class creatives. It will be a donation based event so any donations will go to the food bank based in south east London, and the soup kitchen in hackney. My final collection delves into my complex and sometimes dissociative relationship with my Irish Roman Catholic heritage. Inspired by Victorian mourning traditions—particularly their obsession with the hair of the deceased—and Irish burial customs, I weave in the stories my father told me as a child. This has given rise to six unique characters, each reflecting my deep-rooted fascination with hair, a passion that began during my apprenticeship in a barbershop. At its core, my work is a macabre exploration of how different cultures honor their departed, all intricately wrapped in Celtic mythology.
About Me
My name is Millie Orla Kelly, I am just finishing my final year at uni studying fashion design, i have always worked uni part time and have been working as a freelance costume assistant for the last three years, I was brought up in south west England and my parents are Scottish and Irish, a lot my family still love in Dublin so growing up I was the only cousin out of 32 that was not brought up catholic which made me view Catholicism as something that felt so distant but part of me it felt like an act to me and this sense of naivety around my heritage.
This collection has helped me explore my view on my perspective on the church and made me realise how intrinsically linked Victorian mourning is.
Where will the money go?
- £250 day hire for maverick studios
- £250 for amp studios fashion show, Where will the money go if you hit your full target?
- It will be donation based so any donations will go to the food bank based in south east London, and the soup kitchen in Hackney.
- Camera hire £50
- Sound engineer £150
- AV equipment £100
- Travel (van hire & petrol): £240
- Printing costs for look books (200 copies): £60
Updates on the project:
I run a event company where we out on music and art events in south east London, we update our Instagram daily. @basilcollective, i will also be posting to my personal Instagram weekly
