Finland, 1992
mirohamalainen.com
Thesis: Venus as a Boy
Venus as a Boy
This is a personal story. My graduation collection takes a critical view on masculinity and strives to challenge gender and sexuality. My inspiration stems from personal experiences with my own identity. These experiences continue to shape myself as well as my work. With my graduation collection I hope to expand the idea of what a person is and can be. My process begins with the question: what is masculine and what is feminine, and how do we distinguish the two. The silhouettes are a juxtaposition of hard and round shapes, coming together in one. With my graduation collection I want to pay homage to the people that have to face discrimination and violence because they dare show femininity. Misogyny is omnipresent and everyday, thus expressing femininity is a form of power. It is a political act. In the world we live in, many of the structures are patriarchal and it is quick to reject people who don't fit in the ideal imposed upon us by this patriarchal society. It is this deeply rooted, involuntary behavior that I want to question with my graduation collection by creating fashions that elude gender and sexuality. To me making a collection is the best possible manifestation of this message because dress gives the necessary space to express the fluidity of gender.
