Chimbu Tribe and Jean Charles de Castelbajan

I have continually been amazed in my basic research by the amount of work and skill within the tribal make up I have seen. The Chimbu Tribe also know as the Skeleton men were no exception, covered head to toe in black and white pigment depicting the carefully considered curves of the human skeleton. The tribe are located in New Guinea and the reason for the extreme body paint is to frighten away the enemy. Looking closely at the images I have collected of this tribe I was excited by the fact that every single member of the tribe were individual in their interpretation of this body paint and it got me thinking that from one small idea, for example the skeleton, there is so much scope for different designs and subtle changes can alter the feel of a look completely.

After looking at these images I wanted to see if there were any fashion designers that had taken inspiration from the skeleton, there were a few, but the one that intrigued me most with his designs was Jean Charles de Castelbajan. A lesser known designer from France who has taken an idea and translated it in a number of ways. My favourite piece is the skull inspired hat that I have posted a picture of below because within this project I am also having to consider the hair and adornments.