The Tartan Queen ©️

The Phoenix Collection

Rebellion, Royalty & the Royal Stewart Tartan

Shannen carried this look completely. A full-skirted silhouette this bold, this heavy, this demanding — it needs someone who can hold a room in it, and she did, without a flicker of hesitation. Everything about the final images comes from her commitment to the piece as much as anything I built. This wasn't the only time she brought that quality either — she also modelled Fractal Plume© for me, and alternative, avant-garde styles suited her just as naturally as this one did. If you haven't seen that piece yet, it's worth a look.

The Royal Stewart tartan is one of the most recognisable patterns in the world. Associated with the Royal House of Stewart, it was once a visual identifier for clans and communities — a woven declaration of belonging. The red was said to represent the blood of Scottish warriors; the green, the landscape of Scotland itself.

In the 1970s, the late Vivienne Westwood took that heritage fabric and turned it into something incendiary, folding the Royal Stewart tartan into punk fashion. Alongside bands like the Sex Pistols, it became a symbol of rebellion — a pattern born of royalty repurposed as the uniform of anti-establishment culture. That tension between regal tradition and raw defiance is exactly what drew me to it.

The Tartan Queen© was designed to hold both of those identities at once. The look is unapologetically bold, yet every element was made by hand, on a limited budget, with a fair bit of raw creative problem-solving along the way. This piece sits within the Phoenix Collection because it's about transformation: taking something inherited and making it burn in a new way.

The Wig

Sometimes a wig is the right call for the aesthetic — not every model wants a hairstyle following her home afterwards. For The Tartan Queen©, I imagined a strong, bold look and cut and coloured a wig into a vibrant red, worn by Shannon with total conviction. The colour aligned with the red of the Royal Stewart tartan, though her own hair — lightened to platinum blonde at the time — could have worked just as well, or the green, or a tartan-effect design. It's baffling to me that working with wigs still gets treated as a lesser skill. Cutting and colouring them properly, whether synthetic or human hair, takes real time and technique. If wigs are good enough for catwalks and fashion events, they're good enough for us. Shannon pulled the entire look off and looked like an alternative Tartan Queen from the Royal House of Stewart.

The Chandelier Necklace

Made from real chandelier crystals and beads in a mix of colours, the necklace brought an opulent, almost decadent quality to the whole look. It catches light from every angle, adding movement and richness against the bold geometry of the tartan. The weight of it around Shannon's neck grounded the piece in something tactile and precious — a queen's jewels, assembled entirely by hand.

The Military Jacket

The jacket was something old pulled from the wardrobe and customised to fit the look — sprayed gold, then built up with a patchwork of tartan fabric. It gave the piece an embellished, regal quality, bridging the structured formality of military dress with the rebellious energy of the tartan itself.

The Skirt

With money tight, creative solutions were essential. The foundation was a netted wedding underskirt with wire hoops, giving the silhouette its volume and structure. Royal Stewart tartan fabric was then hand-sewn directly onto the frame, section by section, with the ruffle effects stitched entirely by hand — slow, fiddly work, but effective once it came together.

It was never going to be a professionally tailored garment. It's raw and rudimentary by dressmaking standards, and that roughness is part of its character. On the day, when the full look came together, it was beautiful. With hindsight, I'd probably build it differently today — but that's true of any piece. We learn, and we keep wanting to do better.

"A pattern born of royalty became the uniform of anti-establishment culture. That tension is exactly what drew me to it."

Hair & Creative Direction: Karen Tonks

Photography: Ika Sarna | Model: Shannen Thirlaway