SABINA SAVAGE The Glass Swan Cotton Silk Pareo

This Cotton/Silk Pareo is constructed in London from our ethereal, lightweight voile. It features a rectangular shape with ribbon ties to offer a multitude of styling options; as an elegant beach wrap around the hips, twisted at the centre front to create a skirt, knotted at the neck to create a simple dress or folded into a wrap top, these are just a few possible variations of the versatile pareo.

The Glass Swan was inspired by Italian Renaissance paintings and cultural events alongside beliefs and attitudes of the era; the dichotomy of idealism versus naturalism opening a portal to landscapes of fantasy, a ‘New World’. Glass, bubbles and delicate, translucent fabrics were all employed within Italian Renaissance art as a metaphor or philosophical allegory for the immaculate conception, for light passes through these objects without causing harm. In this vein, Botticelli’s Primavera and The Birth of Venus were referenced, in tandem with strings and chains of pearls, denoting purity, preciousness and truth. The immediate scene around the protagonist is a Renaissance still life; again, translucent liquids and glass objects are employed for their symbolism, while citrus (known as ‘medicinal apples’) are abandoned half-peeled. Small creatures, such as wasps and snails, act as symbols of the brevity and impermanence of life. Bordered by a satin ribbon, the scene is laid within a fairytale landscape, where pastel palaces and elegant spires extend into the hazy skies from atop the lofty mountains. This is no ordinary view; it is a place where the immortals tread, the state between earth and heaven.

The whimsical text within the design is a play on Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus.

103cm x 138cm
70% Cotton, 30% Silk
Made in England
Dry clean only