Exhibit Piece Inspiration

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            For my exhibit piece, I drew inspiration from the Ancient Egyptian time period. Back in 3000 B.C., animal skins were worn by kings and priests. They believed that wearing animal skins would transfer the animal’s fierce and mighty powers to the wearer. Usually the skin was worn fastened across the shoulders. Eventually they stopped using real skin and emulated it with fabrics. They used paint for the spots.

            Using this as my inspiration, I created an exaggerated leopard skin wrap. I created a large leopard head that fits almost like a giant hood, and let the arms hang around the body. I also added a long tail to the back. With the logic of the Ancient Egyptians, this leopard skin would provide an immense amount of power to the wearer.

            Another classic style of the Ancient Egyptians was the beadnet dress. This was typically worn over a wrap style dress. I created a beadnet dress underneath the leopard skin. Hemlines were often left unfinished in Ancient Egypt (because most garments were wrapped and not sewn), so I let the beadnet dress hang off the bottom of the dress.

I also added a wide jeweled collar in classic jewel-tone colors; a common statement piece. Bracelets, armlets, earrings, and head ornaments were also very common. I made sure to incorporate a decent amount of bracelets, and added rings for a more modern touch.  

Only upper-class Egyptians wore sandals, so I added sandals with extra straps and anklets. These, like the rest of the jewelery, are also jewel-tone.