Rethink Feminism

This womenswear collection aims to dissect the diverse facets of women, by decoding the development of feminism in fashion history. It provokes discussion of how "femininity" is represented as stereotyped elements in garment design. It also challenges the incorporation of menswear as a traditional contrast to the feminine form.

This project shows that the compromise between the male gaze and female autonomy is not only related to the length of the skirt, the revelation of bare skin, or the transparency of fabric. Feminism is to embrace one's inner character, and to transcend beyond the binary definitions of feminine and masculine traits. This means a woman can be sensitive and endearing, yet strong and intelligent at the same time.

To realise this concept, pleats, unisex patterns, multi-layered styling, hardware, and the contrast between hard and soft silhouette are applied. The construction of garments were also inspired by varying resources such as 19th Century's Gibson Girl tiered dresses, 50s Dior New Look, 80s power suiting. lingerie, corset, and nude photography.

The fashion styling and art direction of this collection also focused on this feminism paradox, which is related to an interesting contrast between the 2 main functions of garments – "revealing " and "protective". By removing the appeal of dressing up to earn social status, a woman is given a choice to decide what to wear, how to wear it, and how to use garments as proof of their own identity.

Designer & Stylist

Ming-I Hsu

Photographer

Cielo Yu

Art Director & Set Designer

Sunny Chiu

Hair & Make-up

Zhi Zhi

Make-up & Hair Assistant

Ted Kuo

Model

Kate Usok