Mrs. Eaves Installations
Edmonton Design Week, Sutton Place Hotel
Western Canada Fashion Week, West Edmonton Mall
RGD Design Thinkers Conference, Toronto, ON
Mrs. Eaves
The Project
Mrs. Eaves is a self-directed research project created to complement my professional practice. It honours the life and work of Sarah Eaves an inspirational wife, mother, and contributor to the history of typography during the 18th century. it has been displayed as part of Edmonton Design Week at the Sutton Hotel in downtown Edmonton as well as at West Edmonton Mall as part of Western Canada Fashion Week and the RGD (Registered Graphic Designers) Design Thinkers Conference in Toronto, Ontario.
The Foundation
The identify for Mrs. Eaves uses the upper case Q which is known for its iconic swash like tail. Zuzano Licko designed it to be slightly thinner and longer, an elegant refinement of the original form. I used Baskerville's upper case Q in the roman stance to create a tattoo, the foundation for the other layers of the dress. Sheer fabrications were deliberately incorporated as part of the dress design, to expose the tattoo.
The Bouquet
As a reference to letterpress, the bouquet is created using lead type "blooms" connected to stems made out of florist wire and wrapped using string similar to how forms of type are held together when hand setting type.
The Fabrics
The surface design for the fabrics of Mrs. Eaves's wedding dress is a reproduction of the layouts from Baskerville's first printed publication. The front of the skirt folds back in a similar gesture to turning the pages of a book. The layers of the dress are presented in the order of the book, inside the front cover page, chapter page, and text page. Text is typeset in Mrs. Eaves, referencing the relationship of Johannes Baskerville, the underlying structure, and Sarah Eaves, the typeface. A lace fabric is created using the italic version of the upper case Q and is created using a die-cut printer.
