Kiara Vallins-Koertge

Fairy tales are quite literally everywhere! We find them in books, movies, television, advertising. Children have heard these tales for 100’s of years over many generations ... that’s why they feel so familiar. But learning about the history about fairy tales shows that fairy tales were not written for children at all. What is interesting is that the gruesome ideas in fairy tales are often very dark and twisted. The origin of fairy tales was amplified by the folklore German authors, the Grimm Brothers who illustrated the gruesome barbaric and unsettling nature of evil. Modern day fairy tales outweigh evil with beauty. This thesis collection ‘Märchen’ aims to balance them both equally. Fairy tales place unrealistic expectations on young children encouraging them to believe that one day someone will come and save them but that projects an unrealistic sense of hope.

Weddings can be interpreted as modern day fairy tales. My German and Australian family background history sparked a discovery of the transition from black to white wedding gowns, distinctive styles, and traditions. Märchen challenge the perspective of traditional wedding dresses into a diverse collection that ranges from pants, corsets, gowns, cropped leather jackets, and tutu skirts that will provide more options to the modern woman. The integration of braided hair plays upon the connection to the Grimm Brother’s tale about Rapunzel’s long hair that eventually is cut off. Braided hair provides an unexpected tactile component to the garments which acts as an extension of the human body.