4k Film, stereo sound
Duration: 7’ 30”
English Voiceover: Leda Hodgson
French Voiceover: Elsa – Voice Archive
Transcreation: Myrtille Montaud
Vocals: Ellie O’Neill
Piano: Ryan Hargadon
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This CGI film frames the end of the 19th century and early 20th century as a moment when the Parisian garment trades saw unprecedented mobilisation of working class women to advance socialist demands for better working conditions including an end to nightwork, implementation of a minimum wage in place of piecework, an end to the use of colours containing aniline and arsenic in flower work, introduction of the eight-hour day and countless other reforms.
The film draws together floral imagery, domestic gestures and visual reference to the activism of garment workers.
The soundtrack cites material from numerous sources including Patrica Tilburg on labour reform in the Parisian garments trades during the late 19th / early 20th century, excerpts from a government commission on nightwork involving activist Stephanie Bouvard, found audio from recent protests against the opening of a Shein storee in Paris, as well as the writings of Mary Eliza Haweis on the politics of dress reform. This voiceover is intertwined with both a piano instrumental and a vocal rendition of 17th century folk song Auprés de ma Blonde, the tune of which was layered with garment workers’ demands and sung during protest marches.
Generously supported by the Arts Council of Ireland.
© Caroline Doolin 2026