"History deadliest garb" : my submission for FRANKIE magazine as part of the INKYGOODNESS 28 days editorial challenge, March-April 2023.
The artwork has not been commissioned and is in no way affiliated with Frankie Magazine. Copyright remains with the artist.
"Suffering for fashion was the norm back when clothing posed a fatal risk to wearers and makers alike"
Words by Shannon Jenkins
The brief was about doing 1 full page illustration in less than a week to accompany an article (previously edited) about 5 history's deadliest fashion items and their associated hazard :
1. The crinoline (aka the hoop skirt). Fire hazard, wind hazard. general hazard
2. Stiff, high collars for men dubbed as ‘father killers’ because they could quite easily choke the wearer
3. Arsenic-dyed dresses. The poison was used to dye absolutely everything green, including homewares
4. Radium-painted watches. the glow-in-the-dark, radioactive substance was used on watch dials. The very young, daintily-fingered girls who painted the watches died from inhaling the radium dust and from using their mouths to sharpen their paint brushes
5. Men’s felt dress hats. The wearers were safe from the mercury used in the hats, but the hatters were not. And so we got the mad hatter
I am very grateful to have been able to participate in this challenge which gives me and so many other talented participants the opportunity to work on this professional brief for a major magazine like Frankie. I’ve learned a lot from ADs, masterclasses, and other illustrators, and met some amazing people !
I'm also super happy to have been in the top 5 winners, can't wait to live the next adventures with this collective!
