MAGIC ELVES COAT - LAPLAND UK

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Imagine yourself and your loved ones wandering the woods, you arrive at a special gate to be welcomed by Christmas Elves. You visit their cosy village and get to meet Father Christmas in person! Well, that's a magical experience, is it not?

Spring 2023. Never, had I designed directly for the "World of Fashion" until I got a request from a very exceptional world: LAPLAND UK.
Needless to say I was immediately triggered. The brief was clear: design a print for a Magic Elves Coat.

Lapland UK residents.  ©LUK


note: The garments are being used for the first time in the 2024 edition (hence my late post!). I have no 'official' picture yet, but I'm happy to already share with you here below the design process.

This task was not "just making a print". No. Lapland UK has a very unique and well defined creative iconography.  So, I immersed myself in the well explained guidelines, concluding that however there are many do's and mostly don'ts, they were absolutely open to new ideas. 

Watercolour sketch, idea for the print layout.

My research started with the folklore of the nothern and eastern parts of Europe: from Scandinavia to the Balkans. Lucy Bond, costume manager, had designed the model for the garment. She drew inspiration from leather sheephurding coats common in those regions. The skin that is used is pale and neutral in colour and delicately embroidered with mainly red ornaments and graphic borders. 

Watercolour study for a border.


Several watercolour and gouache studies for textures,
leaves and branches, fillings, stitches etc.

Watercolour sketch of a Scandinavian Dala Horse

In my design archive are several late 19th century coloured plates depicting the folk art. Patterns for embroidery and weaving. But also handmade toys, woodcarving and painted ceramics. I was given the time to do a full research on the subject which I then combined with the Lapland UK characters and the story behind the theme park. As a result a completely new style emerged.

Study inspired by a Swedish carpet.

Slowly the idea for the layout got shaped. The sketches were made by hand (pencil on paper) and scanned to be coloured on the computer. This gave me the opportunity to make last minute changes in colour but also in layout.

Pencil drawing for the upper back part.

Coloured drawing for the upper back part.
Note how details are altered (the dog is looking upwards).

Below you see several pencil sketches that are part of the large tendril design to adorn front and back of the coat. One half of the coat is related to Father Christmas. The other to Mother Christmas.





And here some details of the coloured versions.









Both lower front panels of the Magic Elves coat.

And a sneak peek of what the final coat will look like!

First prototype of the coat.

How I value companies that are convinced of the importance of good design, taking the time to think about their creative language. They are so scarce. However it shows they are absolutely right in doing so. Tickets for 2024 have long been sold out...


Credits: All pictures property of Atelier Billiet (except the group photo). These designs are copyrighted by Lapland UK!