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.  VOLUME III | 87