Model: Luto Jantjies
The way, as individuals, we choose to fashionably express ourselves is a language, a form of subtle communication between the world and us. Fashion does only have a practical function, it also provides us with an extension of what we feel inside and whom we prefer to express ourselves as, to communicate what words may fail say. Self-expression through fashion has the potential to make us to feel powerful, empowered, to be heard, and to be seen. This photographic series uses dramatic lighting techniques to implicate taking a stand, and strongly narrating the phrase “SEE ME”.
This fashion series confronts existing fashion stereotypes by presenting predominantly ‘feminine’ accessories and garments on an ambiguous subject. Genderful is an idea which represents a movement that endorses the expression of self through fashion that is unrelated to what is or isn’t connected to one’s sexual identity. This body of work stands for self- expression with no prejudice as well as highlights the existing tensions between individual fashion style and socially constructed dress systems. It shares a narrative of an ambiguous individual in a skirt accompanied by boots, jewelry, elbow-length gloves, and a crop top, forcing the viewer to examine the images and experience them thoroughly.
This body of work could indeed cause people to feel uncomfortable and naturally create an internal conflict within the viewer because they cannot confer individual to a gender. They may be left asking themselves, is it a man or woman? If a man, why the exotic makeup and the skirt? If a woman, why the sharp jawline, visible beard, and body hair? This series photographically challenges the relationships and imbalances between femininity and masculinity, gender and sexuality and how fashion provides a space for one to promote individualistic connotations to these constructs and appreciates the idea of duality.
Azola Fumba 