Wearable Sculpture | Historical Stays & Corsets
Joanne’s Story
Joanne is an international artist, corsetier, and stage manager, with nearly a decade of experience in the theatre industry. She began her performing arts journey at age six, studying music and theatre, going on international performance tours, and earned a BFA in Drama and Environmental studies from New York University. While she pursued stage management professionally, she became enchanted with costume design and the philosophy of wardrobe function. Combined with her deep knowledge of theatre and historical structures, this inspired her passion for corsetry. Joanne now creates one-of-a-kind, 17th - 18th century-inspired corsets rooted in historical construction principles. Each piece is a unique wearable sculpture, crafted with the intention that no design is ever repeated, blending artistry, history, and individuality.
natural fabrics
“Nowadays, we live in an age of democratic envy, where everybody wants to look the same as everybody else or else they feel uncomfortable. But I feel comfortable if I look great.” - Vivienne Westwood
17th - 18th century silhouette
image from jdinstitute.edu.in
Deeply rooted in the traditions of 17th- and 18th-century stays, each corset embraces the cone-shaped silhouette and historical construction principles of that time period.
They are journal entries. Every stay or corset documents Joanne’s evolving mastery of technique and the permission of creative obsessions. These works are not simply inspired by the past; they are driven by a relentless fascination, each one capturing the essence of a particular fixation or discovery in her artistic journey.
