This collection is inspired by the hyperfeminine, obscure world of pageantry. Hyperfemininity is often characterised by superficiality. Using bows, ribbons, the colour pink with suffocating corsets; a glossy veneer that masks something darker, an unknowable identity. These exaggerated ‘feminine’ qualities strive for perfection. However, femininity is more than just an aesthetic or role, it is an essence of being. As a little girl, I often spent years trying to understand the distinction, deciding whether I should embrace who I am or claim more masculine traits to be more accepted. The idea of pageantry intrigued me due to the extreme beauty regimes and aesthetics that these young girls paraded, a reversal of the roles in the phrase ‘mutton dressed as lamb’. By using visual signifiers of the hyperfeminine, such as ruching, bows and voluminous silhouettes, I developed feminine motifs throughout my garments to challenge the distaste a general audience would have to the world of pageantry
