Rasmus Svenningsens

Back story

Rasmus was a soldier in the German army, when he was called to enlist he was in Poland in 1939 with his wife and his daughter (my grandmother) and he had to leave them to make their way to Dreileben, Germany to go to the Gutshause. He didn’t want to leave them and his other daughter (Sonni) was already taken to be a young German soldier. He was later placed in Siberia, Russia in prison and ordered to be executed for being a German soldier but was spared along with a few other soldiers who then made their way back to Germany and were fortunate enough to be united with their families.

Garment construction

I made a German uniform-inspired look by making a blazer, pants, and a shirt. In the construction of the blazer, I draped it on a mannequin using calico by pinning and trimming the fabric and molding it to the body. Later translated the fabric pieces to paper and contracted the sleeve with the vent on paper because I wasn't able to get the right shape by draping it as well as the side pieces from a tailored jacket underneath the arms.

Prints

I printed a white opaque binder onto a black 100% cotton drill. The print is my grandmother’s, her husband, father, mother, and sister's name repeated in rows bold on the blazer and pants of the military uniform this is to show that as well as being a soldier does not mean that he wanted to be one and that he was a human being with responsibilities and a family to take care of. As well as having no choice other than to enlist as a soldier otherwise he would be imprisoned as well as his family and executed.