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Project Statement:

For my interpretation of the story brief I decided to try and highlight the story of women and their experiences however I found this to be too broad so I then decided to direct my focus toward women’s knickers and use this to portray an insight into the story of women.

Knickers alone portray a lot about women as they are often overly sexualised by society to appeal to the male gaze, they have also been under scrutiny in courts and used to discredit women’s experiences.

I also felt inspired to explore knickers from the lines ‘does my bum look big in this’ and ‘what was she wearing’? Both of which again highlight the experiences that women face on a daily basis that men do not.

For my project I studied lace and tried to replicate it through detailed drawings and spray paint.

I also studied a variety of different types of women’s underwear and I illustrated this through a stop motion animation I made. I thought this variety could go on to tell a story of how a woman is feeling depending on the type of knickers she is wearing.

I also thought that some of the type of knickers a women is wearing could potentially reflect a period of the menstrual cycle e.g oversized knickers-on her period, thongs- ovulating.

The main features in my lineup which reflect my theme are frills, ruffles, lace and bows along with the different types of knickers featured in each piece.

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My finalised six look lineup

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The sixth look as part of my six look lineup inspired by old fashioned knickers from the Victorian era.

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Look five of my six look lineup inspired by period knickers.

I took a lot of inspiration for this piece from sanitary pads and tried to incorporate this into the design of this piece

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Look four of my six look line up inspired by the word baggy.

Giordanas repositioning workshop helped me create the shape of this piece.

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Look three of my six look lineup inspired by thongs.

I used triangles to replicate a thong shape.

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Look two of my six look line up inspired by Brazilian briefs.

I wanted this style to be a little edgier than the my first look.

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Look one of my six look line up: inspired by briefs.

I stuck in glass beads at the end of designing this to add an extra level of detail as I felt the dress was a little tooplain on its own.

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A little digital collage I made to highlight the main details I would be adding to my finalised looks in my six look lineup

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Some pages from my sketchbook where I experiment with colour and pattern for my six look lineup.

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Here are two colour boards I made to portray the colour palette I intend on using in my six look lineup.

Both include some pictures from online and some I have taken myself.

The boards also include the lines ‘does my bum look big in this?’ And ‘but what was SHE wearing?’ these two lines were the catalysts in deciding the direction I would go for my theme. These are common everyday phrases that are inflicted on women by society

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Sinead O'Dwyer is a London based fashion designer. 

Her pieces are often made using silicone and fibre glass and are moulded onto the body the also often contain pieces of lingerie in them. 

I really like the shapes and curves produced by the sculpted pieces and how they look when worn on the body. I like how these pieces challenge the idea of traditional lingerie.

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research development:

Another reason for choosing knickers as a way to tell a story of women’s experiences was a court trial in Ireland. A 17 year old  was raped by a 27 year old man and her knickers were brought in front of the jury to consider the possibility that she was ‘she was attracted to the defendant and was open to  meeting someone and being with someone’ i.e as a way to discredit her. It was also stated by this lawyer  ‘you have to look at the way she was dressed she was wearing a thong with a lace front’.

I thought this heartbreaking case really emphasised how sexualised women's clothing is if it can be considered as evidence of consent. 

 https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/15/world/europe/ireland-underwear-rape-case-protest.html

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Artist Research: Art Frahm (1907-1981) is an American artist best known for his ‘ladies in distress’ series featuring multiple pin up paintings of women depicted as damsels in distress as their silk knickers fall round their ankles in the most public of places.  

I liked the playful colours of these paintings, I also found them interesting as they really helped convey my theme of how sexualised women's bodies are and the men who appear to be enjoying these scenes of embarrassment is a clear portrayal of how this act of sexualising is purely  for their entertainment and enjoyment.

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Artist Research: Michaela Stark

Michaela Stark is an Australian designer who’s client list includes Beyoncé.

Her lingerie project celebrates her insecurities and challenges societies traditional views of what is considered flattering. 

I think her pieces are intriguing to look at and I like the unique shapes they outline on the body.  

I found her pieces relevant to my project as they challenge the societies narrative  that knickers and lingerie are there to appeal to the male gaze and reinstate the idea that the purpose of  lingerie is empower to women. 

https://i-d.vice.com/en_uk/article/g5pkk4/michaela-stark-designs-lingerie-that-celebrates-the-body-in-all-its-forms

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Detailing of a piece of lace

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Some spray painting pieces I made using knickers for their shape and some lace to show texture.

I was really happy with the outcome of these pieces.