Womenswear
About
Having now spent more time geographically apart than physically together in a studio and with virtual platforms holding our community together, we ask: what are the narratives we want to tell? Our collective voice demands planet centred design, social sustainability and emotional durability, rich in storytelling and renewed understandings of traditional craft and textiles practice.
From the collaborative ‘Arcade Project’ examining women’s identities and image production and consumption in Korea, to projects questioning sexuality and tradition in China, this year’s Womenswear cohort is underscored by a deep-rooted necessity to critique, deconstruct, and reimagine contemporary gender. Corsets become tools of care for your gut, surreal shapewear abstracts and re-moulds the form, garments become illusions behind screens, as fashion acts as a speculative world to ask: who are the protagonists we want to centre, and what futures do we want?
Text: Annie Mackinnon
Image by Anna Deller-Yee