takis (Panagiotis Chatoupis)
The Meta-Suit
De-Re-Constructing The Ultimate Masculine Attire
100476
Fashion seems an ever-changing phenomenon, defining the particular
social and sexual mores of various epochs. Despite this fluidity, the
male suit has proved itself a persistent Euro-Western globalised
archetype, implicated in performances of power and masculinity since
1666. This practice-based doctoral study analyses and challenges the
enduring form of this ubiquitous ensemble – specifically the late
19th-century lounge suit with matching jacket and trousers – maintaining
that how it is designed and worn can confront, resists and reconfigure
male identity.
Through the use of de-re-construction and the design gestures of addition and subtraction, the exhibited research collections,
Plus+ and
Minus-,
re-evaluate the connection between suit design and how masculinity is
expressed. This involves extending interdisciplinary discourse on the
suit as it evolved over three and a half centuries by situating it
within a spectrum of historical, sociological, and design theories.
These theories are then applied to concepts and practices of embodiment
and performativity through my action research as a performance designer,
played out in a series of workshops, collections and installations. The
creative investigations result in the propositions of the 'meta-suit' –
a hybrid and mutable form of self-expression in the ever-changing
performances of masculinity. In truth, dress is no longer defined by
gender or sexuality; it is an embodied communication tool that expresses
and performs all the required roles in our everyday life.