Final Collection: Marilyns and Madonnas

  • Alexander Knight

My final collection is an exploration of Catholic iconography and vestments through the lens of 1970s pop art, focusing particularly on the work of Andy Warhol and Corita Kent, AKA The Pop Art Nun. I wanted it to be full of playful contrasts, between the bright block colours of pop art prints, the lace and volume of a communion gown, the graphic lines of stained glass windows, the strict seriousness of religious vestments and the easy glamour of seventies fashion. The end result is this heightened, psychedelic procession of idols and icons: Marilyns and Madonnas. This dual meaning of words like ‘icon’ and ‘idol’ which relate to both spiritual and celebrity worship, much like Warhol’s work did, adds a tense undercurrent to the collection, grounding the more frivolous elements. I feel that Catholicism is almost always portrayed so seriously in fashion and so I wanted to give this inspiration a lighthearted new twist. I don’t think God hates fun as much as people like to think!