Annalee Capuano

Work / Of Wing & Marrow

Of Wing & Marrow

2026 Senior Collection ยท Baldridge Award for Excellence in Evening Wear or Bridal, co-recipient

Backstage, three models in Look 2's feather jacket and chiffon skirt, Look 3's beaded silver satin dress, and Look 4's feathered gown, shown from the shoulders down.

Synopsis

This collection explores creation, what it means to create, to be a creator, and to be a creation. It reflects the inseparable relationship between human nature and the environment: we shape the world as it shapes us. We are innocence and destruction held in the same body: the sword, the wound, and the stain. This work exhibits the tension between instinct and divinity, restraint and force. Like two tigers fighting an even match, neither side yields nor conquers; each exists because of the other. There is the animal inside the sacred and the sacred inside the animal.

Look 1

Ivory silk georgette, with a satin lining and silk organza layer for added body. Details include a pleated center front and center back, as well as rooster tail feathers along the back edge.

Back view of the ivory silk georgette gown, showing the open back edged with white rooster tail feathers, on a dark studio backdrop. Full-length front view of the ivory silk georgette gown with thin straps and a swirling skirt, on a dark studio backdrop.

Look 2

A matching leather set with lace-up closures. A black silk chiffon overskirt with a train and a super cropped black rooster tail feather jacket. Details include angular seamlines throughout the corset.

Full-length view of Look 2: a cropped black rooster tail feather jacket, tan leather corset, and sheer black silk chiffon overskirt with a train. Back view of Look 2 showing the cropped feather jacket, the corset's lace-up back, and the sheer chiffon overskirt. Side profile of the model in Look 2 with the black feather jacket pulled up around her shoulders over the chiffon skirt. Front view of Look 2 with the feather jacket slipped off one shoulder, showing the tan leather corset and sheer overskirt.

Look 3

A partially lined silver silk satin dress. Includes gathering at the skirt sides and decorative beads organically draped around the garment. Details include a keyhole opening in the back and hip pads.

Three views of the silver silk satin dress, back, front, and back three-quarter, with strands of beads draped over the bodice and hips.

Look 4

This dress features an 8-yard toile gathered skirt with an embellished bodice. Over 200 feathers sewn on by hand along with beads and jeweled trim along the neckline. Details include a horsehair hip roll and an asymmetrical bodice design.

Backstage, the model in the strapless Look 4 gown with a gray feather bodice, jeweled neckline, and full gathered taupe skirt, beside a makeup station. Back view of the Look 4 gown on a gray studio backdrop, showing the feathered bodice and full gathered skirt. Backstage close-up of the Look 4 model having a feather hairpiece adjusted, showing the jeweled trim at the neckline.

Look 5

A metallic faux leather dress with a plunging neckline, cutout in the back and bronze studs along neckline and back opening.

The model smiling in the metallic faux leather dress with a plunging V neckline, in front of a wall hung with photos from the collection. Back view of the full-length metallic faux leather dress in a lit photo tent, showing the back cutout edged with bronze studs.

Look 6

Dead stock suede lace-up top with circular back cutout. With a sequined black fringe fitted/flared pant. Details include a side lace-up and bronze studs along neckline.

Back view of Look 6: an off-white suede top with a circular back cutout, worn with black sequined fringe flared pants. Front view of Look 6: a sleeveless suede top with bronze studs at the neckline and a pointed hem, over black sequined fringe flared pants. Side view of Look 6 showing the laced side seam of the suede top and the fitted, flared fringe pants. Side view of Look 6 in a lit photo tent, showing the side lace-up and the flare of the fringe pants. Front three-quarter view of Look 6 in a lit photo tent, showing the suede top's side lace-up and the fringe pants.

Process

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Lineup of ten colored fashion illustrations showing the full collection in ivory, gray, taupe, brown, and black. Lineup Fabric and color board with labeled swatches of silk georgette, leather, goose and rooster feathers, silk satin, cow hide, silk chiffon, voile, faux leather, silk organza, and black fringe, plus pearl strands and seven color chips. Fabric and color board Front and back flat sketches of six looks: the ivory gown, the feather jacket and skirt, the beaded gray gown, the feather-bodice gown, the brown gown with feathered neckline, and the top with fringe pants. Flats Process collage of pearl strands and thread on a worktable, the black feather jacket on a dress form, beads being draped on the ivory gown, and a sketchbook page of swan and wing references with handwritten notes. Process collage Process collage of a sketchbook page with decorated horse, headpiece, and statue references and handwritten notes, beside cut feathers, bronze studs, and the suede top pinned on a dress form. Process collage Process collage of a sketchbook page with swan, wing, and antler references, design sketches, and notes, beside the feathered, jeweled bodice of the Look 4 gown on a dress form with scissors and loose feathers. Process collage Process collage of gray feather wings and a metallic faux leather bodice on dress forms, a studded leather detail, and a sketchbook page of notes on creation, technology, and AI. Process collage