"The Latest Fashions, Expressly Designed and Prepared for Le Moniteur de la Mode"

THE CORE IDEA: "TIME" AS THE VARIABLE

My reimagining doesn't change the idea of the piece, it changes the century. Same two women. Same gestures, same silhouette-language of the bustle dresses translated into 2125 couture.

This project takes Jules David's 1887 fashion plate, a candid, staged moment for Le Moniteur de la Mode, and asks what that same magazine would be staging in the year 2137. The two women keep their exact poses, their exact positions, the fan and parasol raised at the same angles, even the same masthead and caption text but everything they wear and everything around them has been carried forward two and a half centuries: a fitted liquid-lamé gown standing in for Victorian tailoring, a ruby-beaded illusion gown in place of polka-dot silk, a modern folding fan and a transparent bubble umbrella replacing their antique counterparts.

Pulling the frame back reveals the world this future fashion actually lives in a Champ de Mars where the Eiffel Tower can be seen, "the soul of Paris", its ironwork intact but laced with soft bioluminescent light, overlooking a Paris that has evolved rather than been replaced.

And finally, the piece imagines the artwork's own origin: a behind-the-scenes glimpse of a future Jules David, seated at his easel on that same terrace, the canvas still half-finished, painting these two women as they hold their pose for him showing not just the reimagined fashion plate, but the living moment it might have been made from.

Link to original "The Met Art": https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/919442

I love it Tom!! 🚀

What if damage wasn’t a flaw, but proof that something survived?

For the FLORA × The Met challenge, I started with an 18th-century shot-proof breastplate from The Met’s archive — a piece deliberately fired at to prove its strength.

I reimagined that same logic as PROOF, a protective vest for skateboarders.

Instead of hiding wear, the vest is designed to record it. As the outer black fabric tears through impact, different coloured layers are exposed depending on the depth of the damage.

Every fall leaves evidence. Every scar becomes part of the object. And even if thousands were manufactured, continued use would eventually make every vest one of one.

The original armor was damaged once to prove it could survive.

PROOF proves itself every time it survives.

I built and explored the full concept in FLORA, from the original museum piece and material studies to the final system, imagery and presentation.

I also recorded a full process walkthrough covering why I chose the piece, the concept behind the damage system, my iterations, models, and the FLORA canvas.

My submission for the FLORA × The Met Challenge.

This is such a strong example of turning damage into a design language rather than something to hide. I especially love the idea that every impact permanently changes the vest, meaning the object slowly becomes a record of its own survival. The connection between the historical...