The Dawning Matineé duster w/ Ophelia & Fawns

$119.00

That moment just before the light breaks. The Dawning is our celebration of alchemy in motion — the turning of darkness into light, and shadow into hope. With this piece we reimagine the story of Ophelia not as an ending, but as a beginning…luminous and awake to possibility. At the heart of our design is a dreamy, lyrical 1868 oil painting by artist Victor Müller. His Ophelia feels ethereal and almost fairylike, as if she belongs as much to the natural world as to the story itself. We crowned her with a halo of golden stars — symbols of illumination and renewal — and added two gentle fawns to guide and accompany her. The flowing scrollwork borrowed from an antique Art Nouveau book cover by Alphonse Mucha lends this design its romantic, fairytale quality, and the trim features William Morris’ Honeysuckle print, reinterpreted in moody tones of dark ivory and deep rust. As a final touch, we trimmed the placket and sleeves with a print taken from a 17th-century calligraphy border originally painted in teal ink and real gold. The Dawning is an ode to transformation — a piece for those who know they hold the power to change their own story. It’s a reminder that every dawn brings the chance to begin afresh — and rise up.

100% viscose (derived from plant fibres such as wood and bamboo). Machine wash gentle or handwash and hang to dry. Kimono measurements: length 78cm, width (across back, underarm to underarm) 74cm. 

“Not knowing when the dawn will come, I open every door.”
— Emily Dickinson

“I am not what happened to me. I am what I choose to become.”
— Emma Watson

“We know what we are, but know not what we may be.”
— Ophelia (William Shakespeare, Hamlet)

The Poem

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How to Wear

There’s a hush of enchantment in this duster — as if you’ve stumbled upon a forgotten page in an old storybook and the rich colour palette makes it easy to mix and match with your existing wardrobe. For everyday wanderings, we love it with a terracotta tank, soft denim, and simple flats — an effortless look where comfort meets charm. Or layer it over a fine knit tank and linen trousers in tobacco or caramel, add a worn leather crossbody bag for that perfectly undone, bohemian feel. When the evenings call for a little drama, drape it over a silky slip dress in deep teal or burnished gold, finish with heeled boots and vintage accessories. And for the dreamers, lean into whimsy with a velvet or silk scarf and stacks of rings — letting the little fawns keep you company as you wander, wild-hearted, through your own little story. 

Our Muse / Inspiration

The alchemist, the awakened heart. Women who turn shadow into possibility, who claim the moment just before the light breaks. Women who know the dawn belongs to those who choose it.

More Inspo

In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Ophelia is closely associated with flowers and plants — each one symbolic. In her most famous scene, she distributes blooms that traditionally carried meanings understood by Elizabethan audiences: rosemary for remembrance, pansies for thought, fennel and columbine for fragile bonds, and rue for sorrow and resilience. Rather than simple decoration, these plants formed a kind of visual language — a way for Ophelia to speak when her voice was otherwise constrained. 

For centuries, Ophelia has often been portrayed as passive or tragic, but many contemporary feminist interpretations offer a very different reading. They see her as a figure shaped by forces beyond her control, navigating expectation, silence, and emotional labour in a world that leaves little room for softness. In this light, Ophelia becomes not a symbol of weakness, but of sensitivity, intuition, and inner life — qualities long undervalued, yet deeply powerful. The Dawning draws inspiration from this reimagining, offering an Ophelia who is luminous and present, rooted in nature, and poised at the beginning of her own transformation rather than defined by her end.

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