Tianyun Lan
"Officewear"
Prompt: Students will select a social condition, a cultural movement, a community that they strongly identify with based on the list of provided options (large or small in scope; personal, local, or global) and provide 3- 4 design concepts- solutions based on a problem they discovered. Students will select the best design solution option to present a wearable or non-wearable concept of a fashion item.
Since the beginning of history, women have been treated unequally in social settings. Clothing is a form to present and express one’s self – also a way society uses to take control of women. From school to office dress codes, they reveal sexism, racism, sizeism, and many other issues, all excused by the belief that it prevents distraction in professional settings. However, the rules more often apply to women than men which place the blame on women’s bodies. From a young age, women are made to feel their bodies are more sexual and are a distraction to others. Sexist dress codes are still a norm in our society, just like how sexism was widely acceptable years ago. From my research, in the 1960s, women were not even allowed to wear pants at work – or have jobs really. But oppression comes with consequences, often resulting in affecting one’s emotional and psychological wellness for individuals, according to the Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research. This can be a life-long issue for many and needs to be taken seriously. I hope to raise awareness of the issue and challenge people to reconsider and change the workplace system. It’s an abstract attempt to reexamine the power of clothing as a way of selfexpression and how clothing can be used against its owner. I took ]existing officewear pieces for women and reconstructed them into new garments — disregarding the garments’ original functionalities and the restrictions of the standard dress code.