The Freedom of Confinement

Shumeng Zhang
Fashion Design (School of Graduate Studies)

About this Item

Title
The Freedom of Confinement
Contributor Names
Zhang, Shumeng (Creator, Designer)
Date
2022
Description
2022 Fashion Design MFA graduate thesis collection created by Shumeng Zhang. Presented on June 8, 2022 at 'Unbound: Fashion Design MFA Showcase.'
M.F.A. Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York 2022.
Department: Fashion Design.
Artist's Statement
This collection represents our experience with clothes as the second skin and the contrast between masculinity and femininity. It is inspired by Martha Graham's "Lamentation" and the New York dance floor. The collection combines menswear and womenswear elements in a distorted way, by mixing ruffles and bold colors with tailored jackets, shirts, and menswear fabrics. It aims to question gender stereotypes. With stretchable fabrics, the wearer's body is restricted but is still free to move, showing the conflict that a dressed body faces.
Shumeng Zhang was born and raised in Shanghai, China. She moved to New York and graduated from New York University, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in interdisciplinary studies focusing on marketing, fashion business and art history. Shumeng interned at XUZHI and Bode which led to her interests in craftsmanship and sustainability. She intends to create avant-garde and unconventional designs. Her work is influenced by art history and gender studies. Shumeng's thesis collection was inspired by dancing and club culture, exploring the relationship between fashion and body and the symbolic meanings behind garments.
Type
Moving Image
Still Image
Runway collections
Fashion shows
Fashion photographs
Thesis
Subject
Fashion design
Fashion designers
Gender
Gender expression
Rights
In Copyright
The copyright for this work is held by its author/creator(s). Usage of this material beyond what is permitted by copyright law must first be cleared with the rights-holder(s). This work has been made available online by the Fashion Institute of Technology Gladys Marcus Library strictly for research and educational purposes. If you are the copyright holder for this work and have any objections to this work being made available online, please notify us immediately at [email protected].
Identifier
FIT Repository ID: fd_mfa_000011
Related Materials
Designer's website
Photo gallery
Unbound: Fashion Design MFA Showcase

Citation

Zhang, S. (2022). The Freedom of Confinement [Master's thesis, Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York]. FIT Institutional Repository. https://institutionalrepository.fitnyc.edu/item/7646
Zhang, Shumeng. The Freedom of Confinement. 2022. Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York, Master's thesis. FIT Digital Repository, https://institutionalrepository.fitnyc.edu/item/7646
Zhang, Shumeng. "The Freedom of Confinement." Master's thesis, Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York, 2022. https://institutionalrepository.fitnyc.edu/item/7646