Sizing Through...
, 2023
Dblspce Residency: Exercise of Putting on
Upcycled from used garments donated by the interviewees in the Peninsula Shopping Center.
"Sizing through..." is a participatory work of modular pieces up-cycled from three skirt sets tailored in the 90s in Singapore. As I delved into their style and pattern, researching personal documentation and local/ global fashion spreads that juxtaposed my erasure and appearance framework, significant social and economic indications in post-colonial Singapore were unveiled with intricate influences and cultural amalgamation.
In the 80s, the world of fashion houses and media was flooded with the idea of power dressing and androgynous style; women embarked on wearing suits and pants, while males were obsessed with femininity symbols. As a port city, Singapore received and adapted to the way of dressing developed in the West.
The combination of a straight silhouette skirt and a semi-fitted top was a prevalent dressing format in SEA in the 90s that was considered a decent outfit for a modern middle-class female figure in the city. The skirt slightly covers the knees to allow enough movement either in a working place or domestic setting; instead of a standard suit, the blazer was replaced by a sleeveless tank top with fine finishing and lining due to the tropical weather. Meanwhile, pattern-cutting, notably the princess line, is inherited from Western dresses( the princess line can be easily found in sewing patterns in 60s fashion spreads). Precisely the same pattern in three colourways, the skirt suits reveal the social norms imposed on a typical Singaporean woman and her behavioural nuances in different scenarios.The garment owner returned the original sets to the dressmaker in the peninsula shopping centre because they could no longer fit her. Therefore, the deconstructed versatile pieces aimed to unsizing and unfazing the body through the interpretation of the participants with various body types and backgrounds. That is to say, the garment no longer serves as a rigid vessel for the flesh and labels but as a fluid manifestation of a person in an ongoing multi-dimensional social shift.
The use of ribbons for connecting the deconstructed pieces was inspired by the ribbon loop sewn into the garment to discuss its practicality and explore its materiality capacity. Ribbons and bows are also elements of moulding an immature image of females, reinforcing gender stereotypes; it is also noteworthy how generally such ideology is accepted and taken for granted. But here, the ribbons serve as a vehicle to embrace various body types, gender, class, and social bonds that we are carrying.