Fashion that makes a splash: The Fifties-style floral dress that is also a plastic inflatable raft

By Margot Peppers

An artist has designed a pool accessory that merges fashion with flotation: a dress-raft hybrid.



Invented by Canberra, Australia-based artist Jacqueline Bradley , who specializes in sculptural design, the inflatable dress was made for a 2011 exhibit called The Outdoors Type, at the Canberra Contemporary Art Space.

The Boat Dress is not only floatable but also fashionable, bringing to mind a classic Fifties-style sundress with its cream color and floral pattern.



Sink or swim: Canberra, Australia-based artist Jacqueline Bradley has created an inflatable Boat Dress (pictured), a hybrid of a Fifties-style sundress and a blow-up raft

The top part of the pool accessory is made of an actual dress, with a hem that has been fixed to the outside of the inflatable boat.

Actor Pee-wee Herman recently posted a photo of the unusual garment on Twitter , writing: 'Inflatable dress for river, lake, ocean or pool floating.'

And one bemused internet user wrote on Swimmers Daily that wearing the dress is 'like becoming a human duck!'



Fashion meets. . . flotation device? The top part of the pool accessory is made of an actual dress, with a hem that has been fixed to the outside of the inflatable boat

Jacqueline Bradley's other works include goggles made from water glasses, a microscope made from a glass jar, and a jacket fashioned from a kite.