Dressing the Celtic Soul

Dressing the Celtic Soul, by Linda and Rosemary Cooper, T.C.R.G. of Craggane Designs Irish Dance Dresses, is a breathtaking new look at the artistry of solo dresses stripped of their usual competitive setting and reimagined in lush photographic visions of myth, tradition and fantasy. Conceived and created by the mother-daughter team and captured by highly acclaimed artists such as Bella Kotak, the compendium reflects over ten years of designs and four years of world travel to situate the costumes often exactly from whence their stories came. Framing the garments within depictions of grove, ocean, cliff, bower, castle, or cloister, the powerful symbols of the Celtic world and far off dreamscapes are enlivened as a paean to that rich history. Creatively chosen old and new literature accompanies the images and enmeshes further the capacity for artistry that Irish dance dresses hold as timeless canvases taking flight in leaps and bounds.