“Women Wearing Trousers”

After developing a further understanding on the importance of Raphael’s paintings and his depiction of perfect figures, looking into how modern day artists and designers use deconstruction to manipulate a body. Or, in this case, how a designer has conceptulised the idea of what is female beauty. Hannah Carter’s collection is based around the difference of gender roles and how there are very unrealistic beauty standards for women now, and for past generations. This idea relates to my research into both Raphael and the pre-raphaelites because of the major change in defining a perfect woman and Carter is aiming to show the pressure that women throughout history have been faced with in presenting themselves in an ideal way.

This collection started from the first wave feminist movement in the late 19th century, also known as the Rational Dress Reform and overall explores the concept of female restraint. I was drawn to the textures she has made using the fabric, including the lumps on the tops and jackets and the shell patterned collars. It could be useful in exploring these factors that actually deconstruct a full body of garments instead of completing the perfect image, which is the styling technique i want to develop on. I think that maybe the rope and these unusual rope like textures may be relevant to explore this topic of female restraint as the models seem as though they are being held back from possibly individualising, therefore all looking the same. This could also be what the nude and very basic colours are for – to represent that women are made to all feel the same and if they do not conform to this perfect image then they are not beautiful. I should definitely look into other forms of work that explores deconstructing a perfect image as it can help lead me to possible styling techniques through ways that do not just mean the clothing.