Art of Dying Art of Dying_Volume III_joomag | Page 87
DEVIKA BILIMORIA
that would momentarily illuminate the handprint
of the final touch, turning the fabric from black to
white, before fading back to black. I embroidered
hand outlines on The Little Black (Death) Dress’s
central panel, within which I painted a 'mood
ring' ink that added color gradations to the dye’s
thermal reaction to touch.
People ask if I make garments they can personalize
at home. This is something I’m looking into as an
online platform. I also plan to write an illustrated
book about dressing the dead. Plans to dress and
be dressed should be made while we are alive
and well. It’s hard to see someone you love in the
hospital, in pain, and ask, “Oh, would like us to
dress you for your funeral? What would you like
to wear?”
I'm making these shrouds to rot. None will exist
beyond me. This is my surrender. This is my loss. I
put undying love into creating garments for death.
I'll cut out the head hole and the curves off the edges
and keep the pieces. I intend to create my shroud
from scraps of shrouds I’ve made for others.
From a conversation with John Wadsworth
DR. PIA INTERLANDI is a fashion designer holding a PhD in Architecture and Design
from RMIT University, where in 2013 she completed her doctoral study [A]Dressing Death: Fashioning
Garments for the Grave. A full time academic in the School of Fashion and Textiles at RMIT, she also
freelances as a Creative Ritual Facilitator within the funeral industry.
In 2014, Pia co-founded the Natural Death Advocacy Network (NDAN), and has served as its Chair since
its formation. Pia is also is an ambassador for Dying2Know Day and a member of the Order of the Good
Death. She has spent over a decade years immersing herself in the funeral industry, including the award-
winning Clandon Wood Natural Burial Ground.
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