PROJECT X

2019

This project kept sisters Dorrith de Roode and Marlous de Roode busy during the summer of 2019. Not knowing how to find a job during the summer in the fashion industry, Dorrith started to feel a little desperate since the companies she works for now and then, took a long summer break. Then suddenly at the end of July she received a message from one of the fashion brands she adores and worked for, once before. She had to read the message 5 times because she could not believe what job she got offered. 'We have an order for the dancers’ costumes of the new Madonna tour, but all the ateliers are closed. Do you have time and would you like to make them?' Having seen almost all the Madonna tours and being a fan of especially her live performances with the best dancers and the most beautiful costumes ever seen, this sounded like a dream come true and a big honour! So the journey began and the dresses were accompanied by masks. Sister Marlous who studied 3D design was not long after asked to have a look at the masks and we convinced the company, that the masks were in good hands, if they were made by us as well. We started to sketch, draw patterns, collect materials, make samples, drape, pleat, sew and gather, and in the meantime we were having an awful lot of fun, knowing our work would be worn on stage with Madonna! Unfortunately the fun did not last long, after two weeks of working hard and giving the best of our best, we got a message that the job was cancelled and that Madonna’s atelier in New York decided to make everything themselves. Why? The time was tikking and it was too difficult and time consuming to send the samples from New York to Europe and the other way round. Of course we were very disappointed. We threw our work in the corner of our studio and we did not feel like doing anything anymore. But after a few weeks, we looked at our creations again and we felt actually that we had to finish them anyway. The design process was so much fun and we just love to sew and design. We were working with cheap sample cotton and making gasmasks for the song Future. During one of the feedback messages we got to know Madonna liked the idea that the masks started to look like animals. So we decided to develope this idea for a collection of six masks, that look like animals, we first started with the zodiac signs, but then we turned them into other animals as well: Aries, Elephant, Horse, Lion, Rooster and Turkey.

Photography: Dorrith de Roode & Marlous de Roode