fashion theories

researching - writing

During my studies at the Amsterdam Fashion Institute, I had the opportunity to partake in the honours program “Fashion Theories” and wrote academic papers on topics such as: “The Curation of Everyday Life” and “The Glamorisation of Mental Illness Online”.

In this research proposal, I question whether it could be that when adopting the very definition of curating; to “select, organize, and present” in our online existence, we in fact lose the act of being present and repeat a Goffmanian performance that alienates what our daily activities entail in a non-virtual world.

Calling out minimalist stereotypes whilst embodying them all at the same time is in fact the result of personifying what sells best and what makes seemingly the best version of a minimalist.

the curation of everyday life

In this paper, I aim to critically assess the possibilities for the minimalist movement to move away from overconsumption and other capitalist constructions our society is characterised with, and whether this movement that is integrated into our ways of consumption instead of defying the construct of overconsumption, can make this kind of change.

the minimalist movement

What this puts into motion is the deconstruction of the Sad Girl subculture as a meaningful countermovement to the creation of a new stereotype that can be held up to the same standard as that of the “happy girl”.

In this paper, I investigate the question: “How did social media manifest the glamorisation of mental illnesses?” by looking at the 21st century Sad Girl subculture, its correlation with the popularisation of sharing mental illnesses as well as their potential to provide a countermovement to the online ‘Happiness Cult’ and the stigmatization of mental illnesses.

the glamorisation of mental illness

pdf here

In a society that seeks self-worth in the crooks

of the Internet,

is it still possible to detach oneself from the curation of our online identity in our daily life?

pdf here