About Me
Hi,I'm Ellie, a final year knitwear student at Nottingham Trent.
Storytelling drives my projects. My final collection explores a ballerina who lived in a gangster's world in the 1950s. Receiving a bursary from the Framework Knitters allowed me to experiment with beautiful yarns and fabrics. I was also shortlisted for the British Library X Priya Ahluwalia research competition, where I research into the Pit Brow Lasses.
Igea Lissino, a ballerina who fell in love with gangster Lucky Luciano, head of the Italian mafia in the early 20th century. The collection consists of evening wear and male clothing inspirations with very feminine fabrics, reclaiming the power Lucky took from Igea's life. Her story is both glamorous and tragic; being a gangster's girlfriend meant attending fancy cocktail parties but also facing gloomy stairwells at the end of the night. Lucky was reportedly domestically violent, and I felt her story needed to be told, capturing Igea's grace and strength amidst the darkness.
INSPIRATION
Strength in the Silence , this project tells the story if a ballerina living in a gangsters world.
As a tribute to Igea's oppressed life, the collection's colour palette mirrors a flower blooming, symbolising her journey from shadows into light. I explored floral references, which led me to uncover Igea's faith; she was a Catholic. This discovery prompted me to research Italian funerals and weddings. Igea and Lucky never married, they only shared her funeral. This led me to the Nottingham Trent University’s extensive lace archive provided great inspiration when designing knitted lace.
I researched into Josef Albers, Manhattan J.C Suares and Stephen Doherty. Doherty's artworks and Albers' photography provided crucial inspirational imagery , throughout this project. The short film "Shooting the Mafia," featuring Letizia Battaglia's photography provided valuable insights into the atmosphere that Igea and Lucky's would have been surround by at the time. These sources collectively shape my project's narrative, intertwining art, history, and emotion.
MY WORK
PORTFOLIOS
Concept Board
Colour Palette
Concept Development
Fabric Development
Silhouette Development
Shima Seiki Jacquard Development
Fabric / Silhouette Development
Silhouette Development
Fabric / Silhouette Development
Print Development
Outfit One - Top Development
Outfit One - Skirt and Gloves CAD
Outfit One - Look Book Images
Outfit Two - Garment Development
Outfit Two - Garment Development
Outfit Three - Top Development
Outfit Three - Skirt Development
Collection Material Board
Final Collection Line-up
DETAIL
Feminine, Moody , Delicate and Floral.
Throughout the collection, I have delved into Igea's life, creating looks that pay tribute to her short life, as she died at 38 from breast cancer. Exploring Lucky Luciano's influence, I aimed to reclaim the independence and power he took from Igea through traditional men's silhouettes and material choices. The collection features highly feminine fabrics, both sourced and knitted, to reclaim lost power. Their relationship was far from a fairytale, with domestic violence present, adding a deeper layer to the narrative. For the look book, I envisioned dark and moody imagery, reflecting the atmosphere of the clubs and bars in Naples where Igea and Lucky spent much of their time. This setting feels both romantic and violent, mirroring the complex dynamics of their relationship.
Igea, a stunning woman, exuded a sense of style ahead of her time. Her attire was elegant, and her demeanour, quietly strong, evoked a profound emotional response within me.
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