Fashion Design

Amy Marie Keelan

Beauty is in the Eye of the Begrudger

This collection is inspired by the hyperfeminine, obscure world of pageantry. Hyperfemininity is often characterised by superficiality. Utilising bows, ribbons, the colour pink with suffocating corsets; a glossy veneer that masks something darker, an unknowable identity. These exaggerated ‘feminine’ qualities strive for perfection. However, femininity is more than just an aesthetic or role, it is an essence of being. As a little girl, I often spent years trying to understand the distinction, deciding wether I should embrace who I am or claim more masculine traits to be more accepted. The idea of pageantry intrigued me due to the extreme beauty regimes and aesthetics that these young girls paraded, a reversal of the roles in the phrase ‘mutton dressed as lamb.’ By using visual signifiers of the hyperfeminine, such as ruching, bows and voluminous silhouettes, I developed feminine motifs throughout my garments, to challenge the distaste a general audience would have to the world of pageantry. I incorporated lingerie to intensify the uneasiness caused by the prematurity of pageant girls. want to start the conversation of pageantry intertwined into the fashion world through luxury garments. The soft and more acceptably feminine colour palette was used with the intention of neutralising some of the distaste for the hyperfeminine, allowing these girls to be understood without judgement.

amyxkeelan@gmail.com

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