The Green Knight: An Exploration of Costume Crafts Techniques
The Green Knight: An Exploration of Costume Crafts Techniques is a thesis project by Will V Galarneau, completed as a part of their MFA program through Boston University.
As a part of this thesis, they prototyped new-to-them methods of armor construction and fake plant growth.
They built a quilted gambeson, shirt, and pants as a base. They built the armor carefully, considering the needs of each piece and how that would affect material choices. The final look took three months, and thanks to the kind donations of several friends and colleagues, $30.
The Green Knight: The Process
Following is an in depth process of this project, from conception to completion, in a blog style format. Though this project took around four months to build, it was built while engaging in a full class schedule, and building in a crafts capacity for two large shows.
The Design
When I decided I wanted to build a suit of armor based on the story of Gawain and the Green Knight, I knew the first step was choosing a style of armor. I enjoy the process of replication — looking at something real and figuring out how to make it with what I have. I decided to pick one suit of armor to use as a main reference, and pull from contemporary styles when necessary.
When my friends and I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I took the chance to look at their arms and armaments collection. I chose to duplicate the suit on the left, a suit of fluted armor out of Nuremberg, Germany, c. 1525.
