Androgyny is the combination of masculine and feminine characteristics into an ambiguous form. Androgyny may be expressed with regard to biological sex, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual identity.

(Above) These images I took at ‘The World of Anna Sui’ exhibition. The images show what I was most inspired by. This notably includes concepts of layering, print on print, bold shape/form and vibrant maximalist mood boards.

Brief: “Make: Design your own gender-affirming, gender-neutral, or gender-bending outfit, taking inspiration from magazines and clothes you might find in a thrift shop or even in a closet at home.”

Inspired by Anna Sui’s use of print on print and bold layered silhouettes, I approached this project with what I learned and felt during my visit to Sui’s ‘The World of Anna Sui’ exhibition at the Museum of Arts and Design.

As well as visiting her exhibition at the Museum of Arts and Design, I also attended a lecture the following week with her and Tim Blanks where she discussed her inspirations, her recent collection for NYFW and her design process (amongst other topics). I felt inspired by both her exhibition and this talk (how she approaches fashion) and feel as though I managed to combine this affluence and my own personal aesthetic to interpret this brief and project.

Talking to Anna Sui

Moodboard, inspired by Anna Sui style mood boards as seen at the Museum of Arts and Design

Initial refined design with color blocking

I love the idea of unisex and gender-neutral designs. I feel as though skirts are something you always associate with women and I wanted to design something that represents my aesthetic as a designer but also explores gender roles in regard to items of clothing that tend to be gender-specific. I wanted to design a skirt/sweater combo outfit that falls under the category of sort of high-end streetwear.

Fabric swatches, experimenting with print on print. Swatches for fabric found on https://www.moodfabrics.com. The fabric to the far left is called ‘Doppelgangers’ and features alternate images of men and women, which I thought was appropriate especially for this project

I stuck to a color palette of muted greys and taupe with pink as a statement color. I chose pink as the accent/standout aspect of my piece linking to the research I conducted in the ‘answer’ portion of this project into the origins of the blue/pink gender divide. I felt as though by using pink it would link to that research the connotations of pink as a female color which is ultimately subverted in this piece. I believe that color should not be gendered and that it should be (as it was for so many years) universal and an expression of feeling and not associated with gender stereotypes.