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PHOTOSHOOT

With the accessory completed and my portfolio of written tasks, along with my 3000 word essay wrapped up, I began to shoot. However, within seconds of the model putting on the mask, the small tear, mentioned previously, ripped through the entire mask. I immediately panicked, and asked a friend on the course to email Gemma asking for a laser cutting slot the very next day in hopes of somehow reconstructing the mask. Unfortunately there were no available slots, meaning I couldn’t re cut any sequins, and time was too tight to even reconstruct the sheer base. This means that I was unable to have a final shoot with my accessory. Time management comes into play. If I had focused on getting the shoot out of the way, rather than focusing on my essays, I would have had time to re make my mask.

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MAKING THE ACCESSORY

I used a tan sheer fabric to construct the mask. The stretch in the fabric allowed the accessory to be easy to put on and removed and formed a perfect base to applique sequins to. I attached the sequins using thread, and the sequins built up and reflected the light, only subtly showing off the gender and bug imagery each sequin has cut out into them. The mask, however, began to tear slightly due to the delicate nature of sheer, but nothing to worry about.

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Essay plan/structure

Developed essay question ‘How has the fluctuation of gender influenced fashion and style during the 20th and 21st century?’

Paragraph 1: Intro

Paragraph 2: Suffragettes

Paragraph 3: Flapper girls and Coco Chanel

Paragraph 4: WW2

Paragraph 5: Dior

Paragraph 6: 60s youth rebelion and the space age era

Paragraph 7: New romantics

Paragraph 8: Power dresssing

Paragraph 9-10: Todays fashion

Paragraph 11-15: Practitioners accessory

Paragraph 16: Conclusion

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FEMINISM AND THE GAZE (& GENDER)

FEMINISM AND THE GAZE (& GENDER) - Mary Wollstonecraft 1759 – 1797 (lives during the Enlightenment) Describes married women as birds ‘confined to their cages’ with ‘nothing to do but plume themselves - Early Feminism – John Stuart Mill, Argues that ‘the whole of the female’ and ‘the great majority of the male sex’ were simply ‘slaves’ - The Suffragette Movement, women not aloud to vote, women protested, some died. 1918 – Men and women over 30 meeting certain property qualifications given the right to vote. 1928 – all women over 21 given the right to vote.1969 – voting age for men and women lowered to 18 (takes effect 1970) - Sex and gender are completely different things. Sex is the biological state, gender is the sex that someone identifies with (whether that be mental or physical) - Birth of Venus (1485) showing Venus in a sexual way, barely covering body parts - Portrait of a Young Woman (1480) showing feminine beauty at the time. Relish tones in the hair, luxurious fabric gowns, china like skin, thin arched eyebrows and blue eyes. (both by Botticelli who obviously saw these traits as feminine and beautiful, one sided?) - La Berea (1876) showing woman beside baby, is that her job? women role? - The Childs Bath (1893) Woman washing childs feet, women role in society? to bring up children and be a good housewife? - Louise-Elisabeth Vigee Lebrun self portrait (1782 ish) shows her looking pale, virginal, hair down, silk dress and hat, (1786) portrait with daughter shows her with her hair tied up, clutching to her daughter, is this her showing her new role? - Judith Beheading Holofernes (1612-21) Women being boisterous, taking males role? dark colours used in painting set tone? is this bad or considered bad that a woman was doing it? - sam Taylor-Wood, portrait wearing a t-shirt with the slogan (fuck, such, spank, want) 1993. trousers down too. Exploiting her gender? how she is viewed by men as an item for fun? - Tracey Emin, Everyone I have ever slept with (1995) explores sexuality. Also celebrates sex as men do, in a boasting manner, does this making her too provocative? prostituting herself? - Vanessa Beecroft, female dolls without faces. Portraying how men see women only for their sexual potential? - Jenny Saville explores the different body shapes of women, are women expected to be slim and curvy for men to find them sexually attractive? - Lynne, exploring sexuality and gender identity - Flapper girl scrutinised in 20s for short ‘boy like’ hair. Femininity lost because of short hair?? - Punch Magazine had an article about androgyny, woman mocking boy for femininity - Mary Quant (mini Skirt) having her hair cut with a razor, masculine? - Marc Bolan, bog long hair, makeup, earrings, costume, feminine? (new romantic era) - Jean Paul Gaultier on shaming heavier woman, celebrates this with plus sized women on his catwalk. Also in 2008 had men in skirts on his womenswear runway. Challenging gender roles. - Mcqueens highland rape was misinterpreted for romanticising the sexual harassment pressed on women - Wonderbra highly controversial as of viewing women as an object - Opium YSL celebrating the feminine figure in a classy way (2000) - Photoshop changing the shape and proportion of women bodies to make them more attractive and feminine, is this bad? - Thin models lead to anorexia? New campaigns head light onto the mentality - Model Isabelle Caro shows the deviating effects of anorexia. - Man Ray explored female features in 20s, highly controversial at the time - Peter Paul Rubens the three graces (1639) shows larger women being celebrated for their beauty - Anna Utopia Giordano reworked the birth of venus to make venus slimmer (mocking modern society) - Also reworked other classics doing the same to the leading female figures of the paintings. - Barbie dolls unrealistic exception of women beauty. Nickolay Lamms doll is based on the average US 19 year old woman. - Barbie now making dolls with more realistic proportions. - Is fashion changing womens perceptions of themselves? Can we change this? What does it mean to be a woman? - Page 3 campaign to get rid of topless model - sexual objectification for mens pleasure - Pussy Riot performing/protesting in Moscow - in churches and cathedrals, large political statement for feminism - Spice Girls ‘girl power’ slogan taught young girls to stand up for themselves and be strong - Met Museum 4% of art by women but 76% of art is of naked women sexual objectification but no equality between artists. - Vivienne westwood sex boutique, women dressed provocatively but scary - mocking sex - Adolf Loos, Maquette of House for Josephine Baker, 1928 (never built) she was an exotic dancer, large windows to show off body. - Scopophilia – The pleasure of looking at others’ bodies as objects

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IDENTITY LECTURE

IDENTITY - Essentialism ‘a belief that things have a set of characteristics which make them what they are, and that the task of science and philosophy is their discovery and expression; the doctrine that essence is prior to existence.’ - This is a traditional theory as to what it is that makes us who we are - Postmodern theories challenge this, are we taught? are our characteristics a product of our environment? - Modern theories are ‘anti essentialist’ - Physiognomy ‘a person's facial features or expression, especially when regarded as indicative of character or ethnic origin.’ - Racist sketches which show ‘most advanced mind’ belongs to white males and most undeveloped belongs to more ethnic races? - ‘Legitimised racism’, white supremacy - Cesare Lombroso founder of Positivist Criminology, believed that criminal behaviour and tendencies are inherited. - (1450 - 1516) Christ carrying the Cross by Hieronymous Bosch, depicts black men as deformed and undeveloped - Chris Ofili, Holy Virgin Mary, 1996 - depicts the virgin Mary as black, unlike old portraits where she was depicted as a white woman. A celebration of her true race? - Pre modern identity- personal identity is stable, defined by long standing roles - you were defined by marriage, the church, the monarchy, the government, the state, and your occupation. - Modern identity - modern societies begin to offer a wider range of social roles. People can now choose their identity rather than being born into it. People start to worry about who they are? - Gustave Caillebotte (1848 - 94), Le Pont de l’Europe, 1876 shows a man who is high in society, ‘a man who saunters around observing society’ - called a ‘flaneur’ - Simmel talks about the ‘trickle down effect’. rich/high ranking society members have nice things, poorer families see this and want to imitate in a more affordable way. By the time everyone has caught on the high end members of society have moved on… constant cycle. Conspicuous consumption - Post modern identity - accepts a ‘fragmented self’, identity is constructed. - identity is constructed out of the discourses culturally available to us. Discourse being ‘a set of recurring statements that define’ identities e.g. sexuality, madness etc. - One - Class - people are a product of the class they have been bought up in. Worktown project (1937) looked at how working class people we living, totally different to other social circles. - Martin Parr looks at budget versions of expensive activities such as horse races and holidays… - Two - Nationality - Martin Parr looks again at stereotypical cultural activities in a gimmicky way. - Alexander McQueen highland rape collection, double meaning - Vivienne Westwood Anglomania A/W 1993/4 takes traditional english dress and interprets in a high end contemporary manner - Las Vagas, mimics famous landmarks, no culture so filled with others? - Three - Race and ethnicity - Chris Ofili celebrates black culture with a range of stories, double meanings, traditional techniques etc. - Gillian Wearing - looking at what other cultures would like to say but don’t. Looks at humour but also race issues. - Alexander McQueen, It’s A Jungle Out There collection, Autumn/Winter 1997 - 8 Looks at race and traditional materials, but also juxtaposition of national dress - Four - Gender and sexuality - Flapper girl redefined femininity with short hair and new style loose dresses - Gillian Wearing looks at gender identity - Sam Taylor-Wood looks at sexual objectification - Tracy Emin tent explores sex - Wonderbra - stigma and gender roles - objectification - The postmodern condition - ‘I think therefore i am’ i Rene Descartes 1596-1650 believed that people are what they think - ‘I shop therefore i am’ challenges this, mocks that people are what they have/own, not whom they are on the inside. - A new age of computer and virtual reality means that we can be who ever we want, social media allows us to construct a fake, more interesting life advertising the positives, usually. Virtual reality means we can escape our lives/identity and live through a character as another person. - Are identities identifiable? can you be categorised?

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Final Design

My final design is a mask, totally covered in clear acetate sequins. These sequins will feature a variety of gender symbols and bug graphics, signifying the decay of gender identities. The movement of the sequins will also ripple, reflecting the movement of water and portraying the theory that gender is fluid.

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Colour scheme

I have decided to go for no/minimal colour with my accessory. The sheer base will be made from a nude material, and the sequins from clear acetate. The overall effect will be a non gender bias colour scheme, and the acetate sequins will reflect the colours of the surroundings.

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FINAL SEQUIN DESIGNS

These are my final sequin designs. I have taken a range of gender signs, and kept the bug motif used before. I have also made the sequins smaller that the original samples, but aim to use the same clear acetate that I used before.

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SEQUIN DEVELOPMENT

I designed a range of beads, one with a detailed beetle on and another with a transgender symbol. These details will be etched into the sequins when I use the laser cutter.

The acetate I used was too thin for etching, and the laser cutter just cut straight through when it was supposed to etch the surface with a bug and gender symbol. Next time I use the laser cutter I will ensure that the acetate I use is thicker and more robust.

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DESIGN DEVELOPMENT 3

In this design, I fused two initial designs together, design 4 and design 5. The mask features large gender signs printed around the mask. These signs get their form from questions and words non binary people face every day, such as ‘what bathroom do you use?’, ‘Are you a boy or girl?’ etc. These bold prints are teamed with delicate insects formed from metal and sewn onto the black PVC base. The mask has an elasticated band around the bottom, so that it is easy to put on and take off. It also features cut out for the eyes and mouth.

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DESIGN DEVELOPMENT 2

In this design, refined 1, 2 and 3 from the initial drawings. The base of the mask is white leather, with a zip running up the back to ensure it is easy to get in and out of. The mask then features leather laser cut eyebrows in black, and a lip motif in red leather, with breathing holes (also laser cut). The mask also features embroided flies in silver thread.

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DESIGN DEVELOPMENT 1

In this design, I elaborated on and refined my initial design 6. This design features sequins, all etches with a variety of gender symbols. These are stitched onto a stretch mesh base. The mask then features large copper bugs in high detail. The shape of the piece is designed to cover the face only, and stretch easily over the facial contours.

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BLOG THEME

Two of my peers mentioned re designing the layout on my blog. The marble backdrop behind each post made reading the text hard. I decided to add the marble background to the top banner/masthead instead. This frees up each post, and looks more refined. However, I still am not really a fan, so I amended the banner to black, and changed the banner text to white to stand out. I also changed the text on each post the be black to link with the banner.

 Later on in the module when I have a piece of work I like, or a photograph or pattern, I could consider adding that to the banner instead.

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PEER REVIEWS

EMILY UPTON - 8/11/16

- Good thorough research

- Theme is a little busy?

- I really like the bright bold colours in your research so maybe use that in your designs? 

- I love the metal insect detail ideas

Overall I love your blog and the work on it is very good. I just think the theme behind it is very busy and makes it hard to read. I think you should use more colour in your designs too.

IRAH CHIRASHE - 8/11/16 - Interesting theme, very unique and I like the way that all the bold colours look very classy and elegant. - I like the idea of using something very sexual but making it look classy incorporating jewels and the idea of laser cutting is very creative making the ideas seem clean cut ad properly thought out. - Lots of detailed research showing a clear idea of what the final idea is going to be even though only the initial designs are completed. - Theme is simple and easy to use and the marble background matches the images on the blog; I also like how there are links to different videos and articles backing up the research. - Overall a really sucessful blog, I think that the only thing that needs to be added is a clear view of what the concept is based on i.e; identity, feminism, hand craft, etc.

EILIS BUGGY - 8/11/16

- Your blog has a nice clean layout is easy to read and follow. The marble background can sometimes detract the eye from the text, so think about ammending this?

- Your design of a mask is innovative and your designs are something that I haven’t seen before. I like your idea of using insects as this creates points of interest on each piece.

- Creating beads with the laser cutter is also innovative and means that each part of the accessory will be personal to you and original style.

- Look to see if you can experiment more with the laser cutter and developing the process by adding the insects onto the sequins.

- Another designer who uses laser cutting is Manish Arora who you might be interested in looking at?

FINAL THOUGHTS TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION

- Amend layout, the marble background gives a ‘messy’ overcomplicated look?

- Clearer influences/themes? explain about them in detail

- Think about a colour scheme for my designs, this could be informed by the variety of designers/artists I have researched or something else.

- More sampleing

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FABRIC SAMPLES

During the session, I was able to look at a range of fabrics to see which would give me the ‘stretch’ I need to ensure that the mask will be able to go over the head without fastenings. These ‘mesh type’ fabrics would also give visibility, and would be easily to apply sequins, beads, embroidery and other bits too. I need to finalise my design, colour scheme and speak to a millinary technician before choosing my final fabric, but these fabrics seem like the best option.

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INITIAL DESIGNS

Design 4. This design features bold derigitory slang words screen printed all over it. Words like ‘faggot’ ‘dyke’ and ‘submit’ are a visual representation of the constant battle that people challening gender identity face every day. These strong words in a bold typography are paired with subtle delicate embroidery. This element of contast could inform my design developments.

Design 5. This design features a bold eyecatching print, made up of gender symbols. The design also features laser cut perspex bugs, inspired by my research into ‘ wonderhaus’. This design, for me, is too literal and dull.

Design 6. This design, to me, is the most ‘avant garde’ and unique of the six. The black sheer base is covered in laser cut sequins. 1/3 of these sequins are etched with gender symbols. These turquoise sequins would cover the entire mask. To contrast the clean cut sequins and colour. hand made copper bugs would be added all over the mask. This constast in materials and construction processes could work really well together, or look a mess. Lots of samples would have to be made, and a vast range of design ideas. Nevertheless, this design is the one that I am more excited about.

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INITIAL IDEAS

Design 1. My idea for this mask was a sheer black fabric used for the base of the mask. On top of this is a large lip piece, made from red leather and cut using the laser cutter. Insperation for the breathing holes come from the masks designed by Walter Van Beirendonck. The mask then features large alliminium bugs, hand made and stitched onto the mask. On the neck of the piece, there are all the gender identity symbols embroided in black thread so that they are subtle. I like this design, it features a range of techniques, and would be a challenge to put together. I think with further development this mask could be really unique and sucsessful.

Design 2. This mask features a white stretchy cotton as a base, This would ensure that it is easy to put on without fastenings. The eye area is a piece of sheer but dense mesh, with feminine ‘made up’ eyes printed onto it. The mask then features statement eyebrows, lasercut from black leather, and a lip shape, also laser cut, but from red leather. The breathing holes were inspired by the Givinchey leather masks. The piece then features subtle embroided bugs in white thread, to blend in with the mask. This mask is less sucsessful. I do, however, like the breathing holes on the leather mouth piece, and this could inform my development designs.

Design 3. This mask is made from white leather. The entire pattern would be cut using the laser cutter to ensure clean and precise lines. The insects are beaded, and would add a 3D element to the mask. The Leather mouth piece would also be on white with breathing holes ( just like Beirendoncks masks) but this time feature gender symbols embroided around them in black thread. The eye holes are covered with sheer fabric that has been digitally printed with a severe eye image. The idea of precision and a clean finish/construction is something that could greatly influence how I design and construct my final mask.