Lumanessence: The Making of Twiggy Tights

The Inspirations...

The idea for the Twiggy Tights all started when I saw my friend, Sarah, wearing a pair of bright yellow rain boots. When I asked her where she had found them, she told me they were old boots that once belonged to her mother. As I was taking a closer look to admire the vintage style and the colour, I started to think how great it would be to find some way to integrate them into a henna photo. Nothing really came up at the time, so I just let it go.

Many months later, I was walking back home and came across an alleyway where I saw this lovely blue brick wall. I stared at it for a long time trying to visualize how I could use it as a background for a photo shoot. I didn't know what kind of design I would create, but I was sure that the colour of henna and the blueness of that wall would be a perfect combination.

Then some time later, my daughter came home with a pair of funky and colourful stockings she had just bought at a store. Once I saw them on her legs, everything got connected in my brain: the tights, the blue wall and the yellow rain boots. I suddenly had a clear direction of what my next henna project was going to be.

The creative process...

So I started doing some research on styles found during the 60s and 70s; things like vintage fabrics, clothes, shoes, photography, jewelry, etc. I also looked into Twiggy fashion since I had associated the yellow boots with that era. Once I felt I had accumulated enough material, I started working on sketches, creating various floral patterns and trying to mix them with more traditional henna motifs.

Once I was happy with the final design, I started thinking about what I wanted the model to wear. For the Twiggy Tights photos, I went to have a look at Sarah's closet. After all, she was the one who would be my model. I figured since she had those fabulous boots, she might also have other goodies that could be used. I ended up selecting a dark blue dress and several pair of shoes including the yellow boots that blended really well with the vintage feel I wanted the photos to have.