TOMBOY FEMME
Category: Apparel
Competitions: International
This look is part of my project TOMBOY FEMME, a tribute to Amelia Earhart and the power of clothing as a vehicle for identity, resistance, and transformation. The outfit includes a hand-embroidered leather bomber jacket, a striped denim top, and wide suede trousers embossed with delicate floral patterns. The leather jacket draws inspiration from the classic bomber—originally designed for male pilots in the early 20th century as a symbol of military strength and protection. In this project, I reinterpreted it as a softer, more expressive garment, tailored to embody both utility and emotion. The floral embroidery acts as a quiet contradiction to the jacket’s traditional associations, highlighting the tension between toughness and tenderness. The trousers echo the same contrast. Constructed from a soft, suede-like leather and printed with a subtle floral motif, they reference both aviation gear and feminine craft. Together with the striped denim top, the full look plays with 1930s masculine silhouettes, filtered through a feminist lens. Amelia Earhart used clothing not just for function, but as a radical tool of self-definition. In a world that tried to constrain her, she dressed with intent—often merging traditionally male-coded garments with a uniquely female presence. TOMBOY FEMME continues that legacy, questioning how leather—a material tied to durability and masculinity—can be reshaped to tell a different story. One of freedom, softness, and the right to take up space.
