This “Systems and Society” fashion project is based off of the classic men’s trouser. The social construct I’ve dealt with in this garment is the issue of body image. The idea is that each human is born as a blank canvas, which is why I chose white linen because it’s a fabric very similar to canvas. Many people, due to societal views of the ideal body image, are pressured to change themselves to be accepted into society. They go to a plastic surgeon to adjust themselves to feel more comfortable in their skin. There, their blank canvases are drawn on when the surgeon has to cut into them. This is why there are slight markings on the garment. The inside of these canvases are all blood and flesh, which is why I chose red linen to depict that. Apart from the conceptual aspect of this garment, it also has several technical aspects that come from the traditional men’s trouser. For example, there are welt pockets that you would find of the back of trousers. They’re placed right under the breasts to symbolize where a surgeon could possibly insert breast implants. There is also a fly front right on the center front of the garment to symbolize the line that many men and women crave from the sternum down to the division between the two rows of the abdomens. As an added and non-traditional detail, I put slash marks where upper back fat typically is. The slash marks in the fist layer, the white linen, represents the desire to rip away the unwanted fat. This garment is meant to bring light to this issue and to encourage body positivity.
Shot by Damien Karan
