Firstly, I started by looking at my archive from The Royal College of Physicians. The pieces I was most intrigued in was the De Monstrorum book and The Maws Catalogue of Surgical Instruments. I took particular interest in how the De Monstrorum portrayed the stigma surrounding disabilities in the 16th to 18th century. Following this I began looking at designers who change the bodies natural silhouette for instance, Fecal Matter, Daisy Collingridge and Fredrik Tjærandsen. My favourite being Daisy Collingridge, I loved how she altered the body using padding and almost making a monstrous but equally beautiful piece. I wanted to take elements of this as inspiration so I started experimenting using balloons to add to the body. I did this digitally to begin with, using runway looks as my base to build onto. Then I began draping onto a small scale mannequin as experimentation before using a human model. I made an array of shapes and animals using the modelling balloons which when added to the body adds interest to the form. I’m going to continue using the balloons going forward with the project but morphing them into wearable items of clothing.
Jennifer Downes 
Being Human
IMAGE: Archive Research
IMAGE: Designer Research
IMAGE: Overlaying Balloons
IMAGE: Overlaying Balloons
IMAGE: Small Scale Experimentation
IMAGE: Using Balloons to alter the silhouette