The starting point of this collection was the reading of The Queer Art of Failure by Jack Halberstam.
«Under certain circunstances failing, losing, forgetting, unmaking, undoinng, unbecoming, not knowing may in fact offer more creative, more cooperative, more surprising ways of being in the world. Failing is something queers do and have always done exceptionally well; for queer failure can be a style, to cite Quentin Crisp, or way of life, to cite Foucault, and it can stand in coontrast to the grim scenarios of success that depend upon «trying and trying again,» In fact if success requires so much effort, then maybe failure is easier in the long run and offers different rewards.»
Halberstam's understanding of failure, particularly in relation to heteronormative systems of success and achievement, guided my research and creative process throughout the development of this collection.
Another important reference was Disney's animated film Cinderella. I focused on the moment when Cinderella prepares herself for the ball. In my reinterpretation, this act of dressing up is no longer performed to attract a prince or gain access to a bourgeois fantasy.
Instead, Cinderella would go with her sisters to a space free from masculine domination, a place where they can exist on their own terms and where there is no reason to return before midnight.
Through this collection, I aim to celebrate the practice and the effort of dressing up, that is coded as feminine and devalued within a system of masculine domination, where care for appearance can be dismissed as superficial or frivolous. Rather than being understood through the male gaze or as a performance for others, dressing up becomes an act of crea-tivity, pleasure, and liberation. My intention is also to imagine a relationship to appearance that is no longer tied to gendered expectations.
Finally, this collection challenged me technically as much as conceptually. Because many of my references come from couture garments, I placed particular emphasis on crafts-manship, construction, and finishing techniques. While respecting the best as I can the technical rigor and sophistication of these references, I sought to reinterpret them through new ways of wearing, inhabiting, and experiencing the garments.