Constance Wynn is a hand embroiderer exploring the personal relationship we have with our bodies - from childhood to adulthood. Through the reinterpretation of antique baby clothing into adult garments of lingerie and accessories. These pieces are given a new breath of life with fresh and contemporary embroidery and embellishment. Constance’s designs are wearable but also a form of art.
Each antique baby dress has been delicately and lovingly hand-made by women up to a century ago and since have been exhumed from shops, fairs and auctions. Constance is inspired by the beautiful baby clothes themselves, and there is a play on the theme of growing up, whether it is the garment itself or the context of the historic whitework embroidery being modernised or subverted. The inspiration for the embroidery and embellishment is in no way child-like: raised-work and whitework embroidery assume strange, organic forms that mirror the adult body or appear spore-like, growing out of the garments. The result is sometimes unsettling but the pieces also have a sense of humour with the inclusion of pubic hairs sprouting from the lingerie. This forms a new connection between the underwear and the body - the garment and the wearer growing and fusing together.