Claudia Potycki

FAME WAS FIRSTLY CONCEIVED AS MY BA FINAL COLLECTION, AND ONLY LATER I DEVELOPED IT TO MAKE IT BECOME MY FASHION DESIGN BACHELOR DEGREE THESIS.

THE GOAL WAS TO FRAME BOTH MY FASHION DESIGN AESTHETIC AND MY DESIGN METHOD, WHICH WERE NOT YET FULLY DEVELOPED AT THE TIME. UNEXPECTEDLY, THIS CAPSULE COLLECTION TURNED OUT TO BE A FUNDAMENTAL INTROSPECTIVE PATH, EXTREMELY NEEDED FOR MY FASHION DESIGN
DEVELOPMENT.

IN THE BEGINNING, THE FIRST PHASE WAS RESEARCHING, AND IT STARTED WITH THE NEED TO RE-DISCOVER MY AESTHETIC ROOTS. THEN IT FOLLOWED A RI-EVALUATION OF ICONIC FIGURES OF MY CHILDHOOD AND TEENAGE, TEMPORARILY COLLOCATED IN THE FIRST DECADE OF THE 2000S.
FOR THE FIRST TIME I FOUND MYSELF FACING CULTURAL ISSUES IN A DEEP WAY, SUCH AS OBJECTIFICATION AND SEXUALIZATION, SLUT-SHAMING, MALE GAZE, AND THE CELEBRITY TOXIC CULTURE. I SO REALISED THE COMPLEX GENERATIONAL TRAUMA THAT MY PEERS AND I HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING FOR YEARS ALMOST UNKNOWNINGLY.

THAT IS HOW FAME WAS BORN: A SOCIAL AWARENESS AND A FEMININE CLAIM.
THROUGH FASHION, I STRONGLY WANTED TO GIVE BACK EVERYTHING THAT SOCIETY TOOK AWAY FROM YOUNG FEMALE CELEBRITIES OF THAT TIME: FREEDOM, RESPECT AND DIGNITY. AN ACT OF
RE-APPROPRIATION AND LIBERATION OF FEMALE BODY AND IMAGE ARE SO PLACED IN THE HEART OF MY PROJECT. THIS COLLECTION IS MADE BY GARMENTS AND ACCESSORIES ORIGINALLY SEXUALIZED BY THE MASSES. BUT THEY HAVE BEEN PULLED OUT FROM A TOXIC ENVIRONMENT AND REPLACED TO A TOTALLY FEMININE CONTEXT, WHERE A “PLEASURE OF SHOWING” HAS A PURPOSE BY ITSELF.

THE COLLECTION IS MADE BY 8 LOOKS, EACH OF THEM HAVING A CUSTOMISED AND SPECIFIC RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROCESS. IN THEIR TOTALITY, THEY REPRESENT A PERSONAL STUDY ABOUT THE NUDITY ISSUE IN THE POPULAR CULTURE, GETTING FROM REINVENTED TAILORED SUITS, TO DRESSES MADE BY DIFFERENT PIECES CREATED WITH A MOULAGE TECHNIQUE. FURTHERMORE, I CHOSE TO USE A RICH VARIETY OF FABRICS, WHICH WERE POPULARLY WORN BY THE CELEBRITIES OF THAT TIME.