Duality is always the aesthetic of my projects. Changing my major from material chemistry to fashion design, I like to embrace technology and humanity thoughts, solid and softness, masculine and femininity in my practice. My work evolves in a space where theories, concepts, the ephemeral, ideas meet with material reality and processes of work.
I have been exploring shaping the construction and doing hands-on material manipulation for all time. Thinking of body and garment, but not limited to the male or female mannequin, a principle of my work is to be both wearable and playful. Garment, installation, even collaborating with performing, I am always looking for more possibilities of my work, and use it as my tool to speak my voice out loud to the world.
Power Tools meets Chicago Women's Park and Garden, 2019, Second mock-up, 10 looks garment, and installation, Photo by Yuyun Su
Power Tools, 2020, 10 looks garment, Photo by Sonia Jia
Power Tools, 2020, 10 looks garment, Photo by Sonia Jia
Power Tools, 2020, 10 looks garment, Photo by Sonia Jia
Power Tools, 2020, 10 looks garment, photo by Sonia Jia
Power Tools, 2020, 10 looks garment, Photo by Sonia Jia
Power Tools, 2020, 10 looks garment, Photo by Sonia Jia
Power Tools, 2020, 10 looks garment, Photo by Sonia Jia
Power Tools, 2020, 10 looks garment, Photo by Sonia Jia
Power Tools, 2020, 10 looks garment, Photo by Sonia Jia
Power Tool
There are always voices around us, saying that women and men have different abilities in different fields and are born to have a distinct personality and social function. However, as Simone de Beauvoir said in The Second Sex, “One is not born, but rather becomes, women…human are born free, create our own life’s meaning.” I am always challenging the way gender stereotypes want to shape us during grown-up.
For a long time, philosophers think “using tools” is a way to distinguish human and other species. In history, lots of women have been used tools. However, here, today, we are still unrespectfully treated when using power tools to create art pieces in the art school. Therefore, I took art, my most powerful tools to speak my voice out loud.
Clothes, to be considered as one kind of expression of yourself, are classified into menswear and womenswear. The power-tool pattern was enlarged and then used as the templates for my thesis collection, which contained classic “female” dresses and “men” suits since I want to remove this kind of limitation. I chose pink and blue, which traditionally have represented girls and boys, to be the main colors of the collection. To reinforces my intention for a human to wear whatever they want and be whoever they want to be. Different things can be “power tools” for different people. With my collection, I aim to challenge the systems and institutions that forbid or discourage people from picking up the power tools they need just to be themselves.