Final Product and Reflections
Once a dress, now became a cape. Initially, my dress aimed to signify a struggle for women’s equality, where deep-rooted social constructs of how a woman should behave are still present to this everyday. But as I started to receive responses to the question: What does it mean nowadays to behave as a lady, I became a aware of the power of our generation. I became aware that to behave as a lady doesn’t mean to be socially well-mannered and having to comply with societies expectations. I now know that to behave as a lady means to be fierce, strong, independent and not care about what others will say. From what I learned, I decided that the power of words were not a weight, but a liberation and a protection. This is why the nature of my dress is now a cape, one where words are liberating and protect. I also decided to take back my end project to the metro, where all my investigation started.
During my final critique, people thought that it would be more powerful to take my final documentation in a public place, as opposed to my initial pictures. But I discovered that showing the two natures of the pictures would be equally effective, as on one hand, the initial photoshoot has an empty dress that aims to show social impositions (this is why it was in a bridal-like shoot), whereas the end product is displayed in a public setting, protecting and almost defending its wearer. Both pictures show my thoughts at the time and both together demonstrate my evolution.
This project made me understand that the nature of everything can change, with knowledge and with others perspective. I thought I had failed my purpose when I received responses from others that I didn’t expect, but from this I learned to work with what I had and be more open-minded and treat each initial project proposal as not an end product and to always leave room for changes and exploration.
