Sziszi Jiang

In my graduation project, my main question was about the phenomenon of the gradually dominating feminine or alternative masculinity in the current mainstream pop culture. I wanted to prove that this is not a new happening, it has its historical and (high-and pop) cultural precedents. During the process I have compared both eastern and western examples as well, that’s how I have intertwined this cultural duality that has played a great part in my life, my field of research that currently makes waves in the western mass media: K-pop. In my point of view, the Korean wave hasn’t just introduced a new musical genre for the western audience, but exported other cultures and showed us the way of delivering and portraying alternative male beauty ideals. I was inspired by the word “kko minan” which translates into flower boy, the predominant beauty standard in the k-pop industry.
These beautiful, youthful and dainty boys, who are as beautiful as a flower, have inspired me in this journey. These boy groups’ and idol’s music have played a great part in my teenage years, so I wanted to regard this project as an hommage for them. I have grown with them and through their musicality, they have shaped my attitude toward my craft as well. I was inspired by the genderless and ambiguous aesthetic, the illusionistic narratives, and the relation it has with the sociology of fashion and how it influences the trends. I’m researching specifically the different portrayals of male idols, trying to describe feminity and androgyny. Some of the important definitions are iconography, idol, admiration and the detail-oriented overly choreographed alter ego that got presented on stage.
I have experimented with the volume of silhouettes with extremely overdrawn lines and shapes, I wanted to represent this seemingly effortless and generous but also body-conscious attitude that this subculture has.
Besides the forms, I wanted to create patterns as well, that create tension and harmony, and disharmony with the silhouettes. For inspiration, I wanted to represent this nearly religious admiration that the fans offer to their beloved idols. I concluded that the flower motifs can symbolize this. That’s why I used Floriology as a guide, I have chosen intuitively different expressions that represent this relationship: admiration, devotion, love, and sexuality, but it also has toxic sides as well. That’s how I ended up with certain flowers for the pattern design. I have worked parallelly on the prints and shapes, they have influenced each other during the process, and they together have bloomed into this unique cacophony.
As a result, I’ve designed an experimental clothing and pattern collection for men that reflect the playful, fluid, and alternative reality that k-pop holds.