Melody Gallant
Thelxiepeia
Prompt: This project was a cultivation of 3 bridge projects where we designed a collection with at least 6 coquis inspired by our physical moldboards and then select 1 look to actually design. The entire collection had to reconnected to our research project in Seminar where we deep dove into a specific ideology/culture and how it translated into fashion.
For my project I chose to research the mythology of sirens and mermaids throughout history and how their representation within society translated into fashion, adding to gender stereotypes and eventually becoming a trend used to empower women within fashion. This translated well into my studio project because the garment I created is an empowering piece to wear and really brings an attitude to the table that reflects what I believe sirens do in fashion today. I went into this with a very specific gradient in mind for the top because I wanted it to reflect the way light moves through water and quickly becomes extremely dark. This is why I chose to dye everything myself in order to control where the shift happened. That being said, I also wanted to avoid the typical tacky elements that can be seen in a lot of mermaid fashion, hence why I chose to focus on the siren and create subtle references through styling that doubled down on the attitude of the symbol. Through my research, I discovered the name of the first Greek siren, Thelxiepeia. The translation of the name is literally “persuasive face” and embodies everything that sirens were meant to represent at the time of their creation. Naming my piece after her was an homage to her and how much her representation has grown.