#4.322

Mine explores the role of a woman in Indian and Western cultures. While the material and general style of the draping mimics the sari, a traditional garment worn by women daily in India, the pencil skirt and fitted form mimics the Western woman, a working woman. Saris are usually somewhat restrictive, as they are floor length skirts, wrapped around the body several times. They’re delicate, and pleated, and folded from a single sheet of fabric, and for me at least - they are limiting in mobility. They’re often heavy, and require grace to walk in. While the Western world seems to push the idea of working women, and more importantly, women in power, pencil skirts and heels are also extremely restrictive to movement. Both of these garments are hallmarks of women in different cultural contexts, and are celebrated as a woman’s uniform but both pose not only metaphorical but also physical constraints on mobility. I wanted to preserve the heavy draping of the sari and compound it on the fitted and uncomfortable pencil skirt.

CONSTRUCTION