Barbara Pesendorfer produces some of the most extravagant and distinctive corsetry and costume in Europe. But you might know her better as Royal Black.

Based in Vienna, Austria, Royal Black has a loyal client base and passionate online following. Creating exceptionally clean and precise corsetry, she also blends wild silhouettes with opulent surface embellishment. Foundations Revealed were thrilled to discover more about this unique corsetiere in Barbara's candid and generous interview.

 

1) What started your passion for corsetry?

That question made me smile a little, because it brings back so many memories...

I got familiar with corsets about ten years ago, when I was a teenager involved in the Gothic subculture, where corsets are a very popular part of the styling. Soon I wanted to own a corset myself and since I already used to sew a lot in those days, I just gave it a try and made my very first corset. The result was not bad and I started working on the next one immediately - that was how it all began.

Later, when I studied fashion and tailoring, I also discovered my love for historic costumes and learnt much more about the history of this exceptional garment. Over time, corsetry has become a real passion for me.

 

2) Your work is exceptionally inventive but also beautifully clean and precise. How did you develop your technical skills?

Well, I've gone through several stages in my life, which all taught me different things and brought me to where I am now with my skills... Here is a list of the ones I consider most important for my development:

• The basics of sewing I learnt very early from my mother, who was a seamstress herself. I guess growing up in a family with craftsmanship background strongly influenced me to learn a handcraft myself.

• My first career choice was graphic design. I studied it for five years and developed a sense for shapes and colours, proportions and lines and the process of designing itself, which still helps me a lot nowadays.

• After I graduated from graphic design school, I knew that this was not what I wanted to do for a living and so I started my second education - which was studying fashion and tailoring, focused on historical fashion and stage costumes. There I got a solid education in the craft of traditional tailoring, historical sewing techniques, pattern construction and lots of other things around this business.

• I finished studies with my examination for the master craftsman's certificate and was lucky enough to get a job as a costume-maker at the theatre afterwards, where I learnt some really different skills like surface treatments, building props, combining different crafts in a creative way (tailoring, painting, metal work,...), making garments long lasting and functional, and most of all, finding solutions for the crazy ideas of costume designers. ;)

• Finally I worked as an intern for different tailors, designers and theatres during my education, visited classes, talked to professional craftsmen and used every free minute to practice my skills on the sewing machine.

All these different experiences played a part in developing my skills, but there will always be something new to learn, a new technique to discover or a pattern to experiment with. That's one of the reasons why I love my job so much, and that's what keeps it interesting for me.

 

3) You seem to enjoy creating unusual details in your work (eg: double-busk fronts, interesting fabric combinations, ruff details, etc). How do you dream up new ideas?

I always want to push the boundaries of what I have done before and explore new techniques, to find out what is possible. Thinking about it, I find it quite hard to tell where my ideas initially come from. I just absorb what I see every day, like artwork from other designers and craftsmen, movies and magazines, materials in the local stores, old handcraft techniques... All of this I store in my head, where it somehow mixes up and grows into new ideas.

Over the years I also developed a fondness of certain shapes, techniques and materials, which I often integrate in new designs, like the mentioned ruffs, dramatically curved lines or rhinestones. It's like a stock of design elements in my head, where I continually add new ideas to use as a source for new creations.

 

 

4) How do you reach your clients?

Two main ways: word-of-mouth advertising and online marketing.

In the beginning I just wore my own designs to parties and events and handed out flyers. This way I got my first regular customers, who soon recommended me to their friends and family. That worked just fine as long as my label was only a part-time job for me.

When I turned my label into a full-time business last year, I found online communities to be an excellent platform to present my work. Working with professional models and photographers is an especially great way of reaching a bigger audience from all over the world.

For me, Facebook works very well at the moment and I get a lot of commissions from my followers on this community. Of course it is very time-consuming to maintain an online presence, but it also gives me a lot of energy and inspiration to get feedback on my own creations, and discovering the work of other talented artists always pushes me to create something new.

 

5) Some of your corsets feature unusual seaming or construction (such as your recent gold piece). What system do you follow to pattern your corsets?

For my basic patterns I use the pattern system Müller & Sohn; a German system which is taught at fashion schools in Austria and Germany. This system allows me to create well fitting basic patterns, where I can draw in any lines I desire for a garment.

However, for more complex pieces like corset tops or dresses I always make mock-ups - sometimes up to five until I am happy with the pattern. Seeing the mock-up on the dressform helps me to bring the lines to perfection or to develop unusual shapes, which would be hard to design on the paper.

Creating dynamic yet harmonic lines is one of the most exciting and important parts of corsetry for me, so I put a lot of attention into it, and it makes me really happy when other people notice and appreciate that.

 

6) What is the most unusual or interesting corset you have made?

It's hard for me to decide on one corset, as I experimented with lots of new shapes and techniques for my last collection, but if I had to pick one, it would be the pink and black corset-dress with cups and PVC flower details.

This outfit challenged me in several ways. First of all, I wanted to develop a perfect cup shape, which also works for bigger cup sizes (the dress is a 34D). Then I had to deal with the multiple layers of fabric (pink satin, black tulle lace overlay and a layer of transparent PVC on top of it), which wasn't so easy, especially in the cup area. Finally I played around with the flat and three-dimensional PVC flower details, which was the most fun part to do.

I'm not completely satisfied with the finished dress (actually I never am, because I'm such a perfectionist ;) ), but I learnt a lot from this dress and still like the overall look of it.

 

7) What do you love most about corsetry?

I find it fascinating that the corset is a garment that corresponds so much to the body of its wearer. On the one hand, the corset follows the shape of the body, but on the other hand it can also change and optimise the silhouette.

As mentioned above, shapes and lines are really important for me, so the corset is the perfect garment to transfer that interest into fashion. Corsets give me the opportunity to accentuate the best features of a body, or even to transform it into exciting new shapes with unusual patterns, padding or decoration.

Finally, corsetry is also a handcraft where precision is not only important but also visible to the viewer - there are no loose layers of fabric covering the stitching, pattern matching or other details. I always give my best to make my work as clean and precise as possible and find it very satisfying when good craftsmanship is visible on a garment.

 

8) What do you think is the most important skill for a self-employed corsetiere?

I couldn't name only a single skill, so here are three skills I personally find very important for working as a self-employed corsetiere:

• Having a good feeling for proportion, line and colour, and knowing which styles suit different persons. I find it very important to create corsets that not only look beautiful on their own, but also fit the type and shape of the person wearing them.

• Being well organised. Working as a self-employed corsetiere doesn't just mean designing and sewing, but also lots of paperwork, dealing with clients and business partners, looking for materials and suppliers, marketing and so on. Most people don't have somebody to help with all that, especially in the beginning, so it's very important to be organised enough to handle all that in a timely way. Personally I make a lot of lists and have a very detailed diary so I don't lose sight of anything.

• Passion for the job! I know, it's not really a skill, but it makes all the difference...

My first year as a full-time corsetiere showed me that it is not an easy job. Starting a new business means lots of hard work, sometimes for too little money, no safe income, setbacks and all the downsides of being self-employed. The love for what I am doing gives me the energy to get through not-so-good times and keep on doing what I do every day.

 

9) What are your dreams for your business? How do you plan to make those dreams a reality?

To be honest, I wouldn't have expected in my wildest dreams that my business would reach such a big and international audience in such a short time, so instead of having a big goal for the future I rather try to realise what I have already achieved so far and become a little more settled after all the exciting commissions and projects of the last months.

Reorganising my studio, launching a new website, organising my business a little better... those are some of the smaller goals I have for the near future, but otherwise I'm just very grateful and happy with what I have already reached.

Expanding my business is not an option for me at the moment, as I prefer to keep my label small and personal. I want to have direct contact with my clients and not lose control over quality, customer service and all the other small things that matter so much for me. Bigger companies often have to make compromises on some of those factors and I definitely can't imagine doing that myself at this point.

Of course I have about 1001 ideas for new collections, show-pieces and collaborations with other artists, but not with the intention to change my business into something other than it is now.

 

10) What are you working on right now?

At the moment I am trying to catch up on all the commissioned work for my clients, which include some really exciting corset pieces and spectacular outfits for events like the famous Life Ball in Vienna or the Wave Gotik Treffen in Leipzig.

Apart from that I am trying to squeeze a new mini-collection into my schedule - again with the focus on corsets, where I want to experiment with new techniques and patterns.

I really hope I will find time to realize at least one or two pieces for this collection during the next few months, as I am really excited about my ideas and want to bring them to life instead of just dreaming about them!

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