Re-skinned Contours
Category: Apparel
Competitions: International
Re-skinned Contours is a conceptual collection that explores the female body’s evolution through movement, silhouette, emotion, and material. Women live in constant negotiation between societal expectations and lived realities, especially in how their bodies are perceived, shaped, and experienced. Inspired by historical and contemporary depictions of femininity, from ancient Venus figurines to modern digital filters, this collection reimagines the female form not as a fixed ideal but as something always in motion. Through physical and digital pattern cutting, sculptural garments emerge to reflect personal transformation, emotional vulnerability, and quiet strength. To push the structural quality of certain garments, I chose to work with cowhide leather. It is a natural and durable material that offers a strong tactile presence and allows me to sculpt silhouettes that feel grounded, bold, and emotionally resonant. For contrast and comfort, I paired it with suede lining, introducing a softer and more intimate texture that complements the outer structure. This combination supports the physical form and deepens the emotional narrative within the garments, reflecting the balance between strength and sensitivity that I often explore in my work. In addition to leather, I incorporate 100% cotton, wool, and linen. These natural fabrics align with the values of this collection, emphasising sustainability and responsible material sourcing. Leather, much like the female body, softens, creases, and evolves over time, holding traces of memory and experience. As we navigate through different phases of life, from youth to maturity, our bodies reflect this same transformation. This ageing process became an emotional lens for the collection. A “skinned truth” is how I hold onto who I am, a reminder that I exist, imperfect but real. By working with natural fibres and embracing a sustainable approach to design, my goal is to create garments that express not only what is physically lasting but what is emotionally durable. As Simone de Beauvoir once said, “one is not born but becomes a woman”. Re-skinned Contours both embraces and questions that transformative process through cut, form, and tactile depth, offering garments made not to impress but to express, to last, and to be lived in. In this context, leather becomes more than a material. It is a vessel of narrative, reflecting both strength and vulnerability, and a sense of presence that aligns with the emotional and structural qualities I explore in the female form.
