Jonathan Sutherland
Moonlight Massacre
The concept for my collection has been initially derived from the life and actions of notorious mass murder Ed Gein and the legacy he has left behind. Gein was molested as an infant and after his father passed away he still carried the burden of an over religious domineering mother, after years of mental and physical abuse his mother passed and this is where the horror that lay dormant within Gein’s mind was soon to be released, equating in cannibalistic, sadistic and horrific murders. Upon police investigation to the house many human remains were discovered and the larvae of exotic beetles and death moths were found planted into the decaying flesh of the unfortunates. This is where my collection begins… using Gein’s life I plan to unravel the source of his morbid curiosity and recreate the “monsters” that visited Gein whilst he slept as a young child, piecing together the unfortunate upbringing of a once innocent child and creating a metaphor for what really happened when he was a child.
I will be focusing on using the ideas of the insects Gein left as a trade mark within his victim’s throats and using these to create original exaggerated silhouettes, furthermore looking at the segmentation of the bug and the “armour” to create layered domineering looks to enhance the female form but with a menacing presence. Through pattern cutting, print and fabric manipulation I hope to achieve a menacing aesthetic. I visited the Alexander McQueen V&A show and the YSL exhibition at Bowes museum to get an insight into creating highly conceptual garments, print and embroidery techniques Both designers uphold high fashion quality and I plan to achieve this level of expertise through the whole collection.