'Selling Her Oranges'

I enjoyed completing my graduate collection from home due to COVID-19. It made me broaden my skillset, learning to work independantly and know the value of collaboration. ‘Selling Her Oranges’ is inspired by the promiscuous Nell Gwynn, mistress to Charles II. I wanted to explore the controversial presence, even glorification, of adultery within the otherwise enforced monogamy of an aristocratic society. Focusing on the most vulnerable member of the relationship, I explored the life of someone who enters such an intimate yet endangered role. Above all, Gwynn was most infamous for wearing loose chemises which scooped below her chest, not just exposing her bosom but her ‘loose’ morals, thus inspiring the name of this collection; ‘Selling her Oranges’.