I’ve had so many people ask me how I make my moulded corsets, so I’m pulling back the curtain. This is Part 1 of a two-part BTS series on the moulded corset I’m making for my London Fashion Week collection, The Rebel Equinox: Cult of the Bloom, worn by my plus-size model Feya.
The Problem With Moulded Corsets
Moulded corsets are usually made one of two ways: cast in resin, or heat-moulded from PETG plastic sheet. Both have a catch. Resin is toxic to work with until it’s fully cured, so you can’t mould it directly against skin. PETG has to be heat-formed over a mannequin, so it can’t be shaped on a person either. Every moulded corset I’d made up to now had been built on my dolly-shop mannequin, which is a standard size zero. That’s fine if your client happens to be a size zero. It’s not fine if they’re not, and most people aren’t.
I only own the one mannequin size, but I get asked for moulded corsets by people of every shape, so I needed a way to get a genuinely custom, perfect-fit mould without either putting toxic resin on skin or trying to heat-mould plastic on a living person.
The Idea: Cast the Body, Then Mould the Corset
Here’s what I figured out: do a plaster-of-Paris body cast directly on Feya first. Once that cast is set and cured, it becomes a solid, completely safe mannequin, one that’s shaped exactly like her body, not a generic size zero. I can then do the resin work on the plaster cast instead of on Feya herself, with zero toxicity risk, and the finished corset comes off fitting her perfectly, because it was built on a copy of her actual body.
It means I’m no longer limited to the one mannequin size I own. Any body, any size, I can now make a bespoke moulded corset that actually fits, instead of a size-zero shape awkwardly adjusted afterwards.
Why This Matters to Me
I came up with this because I only have size-zero mannequins, and now I can create moulded corsets for any body size. That’s what inclusive fashion is all about, fashion should be for everyone. Feya is one of the most striking women I’ve ever worked with, and she deserves a moulded piece that was actually made for her body, not forced onto it.
This piece will be refined and shown on the runway at London Fashion Week next month. When I get opportunities, my models and the people I work with get them too, always.
In collaboration with @lv_teddygram and @mrkellyking_official.
What’s Next
Part 2 is live now: see the resin work on the finished body cast, and how the corset shape comes together.
London Fashion Week is expensive: materials, travel, accommodation. If you’d like to support the journey, I’m fundraising here, and everyone who donates is entered into a draw to win one of my jackets or an exclusive 3D-printed bag. Tickets to the show are also on sale now if you’d like to see it in person. Even a share helps, and I’m truly grateful for every bit of support.
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