Harriet Ogden

Graduation Collection

The Carpet people

written by Terry Pratchett

Madame butterfly

written by Giacomo Puccini

The book is set amongst the fibres of a carpet. Fantasy creatures such as the Munrung tribe travel across the carpet. Surreal movement and the transformation of the human body lead my research. Parodies of everyday objects from our world were inspirational when designing for these characters (dust, receipt).

Cultural inaccuracies and stereotypes are commonly associated with portrayals of Puccini’s opera and this fueled my exploration into Japanese culture, so I could interpret the story by adding realism while simultaneously infusing modernity. Research into Japanese ‘folk’ clothing and its production methods such as the Shibori dye process has instilled my final costumes with authenticity.