Shakespeare's doomed heroine Ophelia in Hamlet has long fascinated artists — from the pre-Raphaelites (John Everett Millais' painting of the drowning maiden was even replicated in Lars von Trier's Melancholia) to alt-rocker Natalie Merchant (1998's concept album Ophelia).
Now emerging and edgy local costumiers and fashion designers have revisioned the character through six one-off creations in a free exhibition described as "theatre meets fashion" at Southgate as part of Melbourne Spring Fashion Week. The display, inspired by Deborah Halpern's iconic Picasso-esque Ophelia sculpture nearby, has been curated by the live art Maggie Journal.
Traditionally depicted in chaste-white robes with a garland of wild flowers in her hair, Ophelia is reincarnated through the ages — from the 1830s (by Madame Buttons) to F Scott Fitzgerald's 1920s (Aya The Label, "upcycling" an old lace curtain) to the '70s (Marlow And Grump, Elisa Keeler) to today (Prebared, referencing Julia Stiles' Ophelia in 2000's contemporised Hamlet film) — and beyond.
It's all highly imaginative. However, the designers provide a subtle critique of gender archetypes, literary and cultural — and the 'muse'. Our fave is Penny Drop's outlandish 2056 Ophelia — this apparent survivor's futuristic, symbolically aquatic attire utilises such textiles as vinyl, spandex and Velcro. It's very David Bowie.
Ironically, at Friday's launch Franco Zeffirelli's 1990 adaptation of Hamlet, starring the controversial Mel Gibson opposite Helena Bonham Carter, was projected on an upper wall.
