This assignment was about creating volume. I made a mini collection and chose Black Lives Matter as the subject. This was some time after George Floyd's death, the demonstration during corona time and I wanted to link a vision to this. It was a time of change.
For the first outfit in this collection I made a protective vest. Multiple strips of padded fabric. I looked in magazines for black models. I soon found out that the distribution of white models versus black models was not fair at all. I used the magazine pages to fill in the strips, to give the clothing a story. The vest is fastened together with safety pins. It is solidly put together, but on the other hand it is very fragile and vulnerable. I gave the pants volume by adding points at the side seam. It also gives a hard look. It is a persistent process against racism and injustice.
For the second outfit, I wanted to look further into adding volume without padding. In the end I arrived at pleats, stiffer fabric and a remarkably large shape. I wanted to use the round shape of the world. I made the tulle that I used stiffer and this creates more roundness at the sleeves and the bottom of the dress. The circles could represent the different kinds of people in the world. All balls and people are equal, how it is supposed to be.
With the third outfit, I wanted to continue exploring pleats and adding volume in the sleeves. I added three tunnels to the skirt. When you put it on it creates a bulge and that's how I wanted to add volume. I must honestly say that the effect is nice, but not as I would have liked to see it with a lot of volume. I should have made a skirt with more fabric for more effect. The top has an equal sleeve, with a spherical sleeve pointing to the same side, and is divided into two color areas. I stitched a face on the top. I tried to portray an abstract Floyd, the face of the revolution.
Finally, I also made a portable globe of paper mache. As the outer layer I used magazine pages of black models again.
