I’m a new corset designer from Montreal (Canada) and a university student in History. I stumbled upon your contest three weeks ago and I was instantly inspired by the theme. The complexities of the Gothic cathedral architecture encouraged me to create something that reflected my passion for history. I concentrated mostly on the structure and stained glass of La Cathédrale Notre-Dame De Strasbourg.

As for the construction, I used ten 100% cotton fabrics including three shades of blue, two shades of green, two shades of yellow, one red, one grey and one black. I chose vivid colors to recreate the stained glass look. All fabrics were reinforced with fusible interfacing, every seam is stitched twice as well as top stitched, and a waist tape is sandwiched between fashion fabric and lining. Hand cut spirals and spring steel bones are use throughout the corset, it has a modesty placket in the front busk, and it is laced with a black tightly braided flat cord.

This is my first prototype. It was molded on this wasp waist mannequin:

This is the final result:

The picture was taken by my wonderful boyfriend! I create the French hood (Renaissance-inspired headpiece) to match the corset. I also edited the picture, including my inspiration, the rose glass of La Cathédrale Notre-Dame De Strasbourg, in the background.

Here are some close-ups of my creation. The base of the corset is black and grey and multiple shapes of different colors were added and sew on top as appliqués. I found it challenging to align every piece in the blue rose in the front but managed to make it!

This corset was so much fun to create. I rarely have the occasion to make a special piece such as this one and let my creativity flow.

Thank you for this wonderful experience and I'll be looking forward for the next one!