Rachel Doughty reflects on her recent Hatching residency at The Nest.

You cannot imagine my excitement when someone approached me about making a dress that could have a theatre in the skirt to enable mobile performances; I may have even squealed just a little.

It’s worth mentioning, at this point that they were a puppeteer looking for a way to take entertainment to festivals. This conversation was came at a pertinent time when having pain in my dominant arm from repetitive stress injury, I was having to sew more by machine than hand and therefore change my creative practice somewhat.

I entered the residency with a few images and a problem that needed a lot of thought and experimentation. How was I going to create enough width in the dress to be able to contain a stage? How could there be multiple backdrops if the plays were to change. What about storage for the puppets? How could I make them easy access? Were they going to have to be hung from the dress; be stored in pockets? What about comfort and practicality; how do I make an outfit suitable for changeable English weather?

The issue of making enough space for the action to take place was solved by looking at 18th century costume. I knew about hooped skirts and during my internet scrolling and video watching I discovered Paniers or flat hoops that stick out from the hips creating a wide, flat front to skirts and plenty of space to place curtains, stage and characters.

The rest of the issues and more were worked through by trial and error and thankfully some knowledge from my days on a Fashion and Textile course in the 1980’s. Having the space, time and a quiet, clear environment away from the distractions of home was so vital in getting this project started and I am so grateful for the lunchtime conversations and studio visits that helped move my work along. The residency feels like a springboard for the new direction my work will be taking and I am already in talks with someone else to collaborate on a new costume/wearable art piece.