What has been forgotten

“There is nothing new except what has been forgotten.” – Marie-Jeanne Rose Bertin

Our sources of inspiration for the second volume in the Percivious trilogy, Percivious Origins, came from some of the least likely places. Places most people would never imagine. Bertin’s famous quote above speaks to the novel’s purpose. A sequel that shatters evolution as we know it, by revealing an alternate history from 280 million years prior.

Bertin is the first celebrated fashion designer, and is widely credited with having brought fashion and haute couture to the forefront of popular culture.

She came from a family of small means and received a modest education but had a high level of ambition, high enough to land her in the position of “Minister of Fashion” for Marie Antoinette.

Bertin became a powerful figure at court. Her large ostentatious gowns ensured the wearer occupied at least three times as much space as their male counterpart, thus making women a more imposing presence. This resonates with us as we explore a species in Percivious Origins that has evolved in the absence of sexual dimorphism and how size alone between makes and females can have profound inspect on an entire civilization.

Bertin used and exaggerated the leading modes of the day, and created poufs for Marie Antoinette up to three feet high. The pouf fashion reached such extremes that it became a period trademark and was the ultimate statement piece, modelled into objects ranging from recent gossip, to nativities, to husbands’ infidelities.

She was perhaps the first to demonstrate the profound impact of how what we wear can potentially send a stronger message then what we say, and throughout the Percivious trilogy readers will be shocked by the profound impact of intelligent garments and the potential evolution of what clothing can be.