Tulip Corset, 2022, Maria Foka
45 x 30 cm approx., cement, plaster, screen & velvet
Wearer: Ioanna Vlachaki | Photographer: Athina Feidaki
Last photo as seen on the ‘MISS UNIVERSE’ editorial, February Issue
Photography & Art Direction @mariakoutroumpi | Assistant @topfloorbottombuzzer | Fashion Editor @vinyl_face | Hair Stylist @maritina_manth | Assistant @stauroulagalani | Make up Artist @iridanca | Assistant @makeup.bychristiana | Nail Artist @mariavinails | Set Design @mariakoutroumpi | Model @wendyxfenty
The tulip corset is a nod to the mimicry of modern-day corsetières towards the historicity of corsetry. Replacing the linen with cement, and ditching the whalebone and the wood, 16 rigid pieces with zero seam allowance are drawn together to the brim of completion. The stiffness of the original garment is exaggerated, the support becomes confinement and the regionally selective shaping of the body freezes in time, instantly immortalizing the wearer’s physique and movement. Ranging from the device of modesty to an utterer of devilish morals, the version of the corset as a wearable sculpture claims its own space in the realm of things whose wearability in the physical, sociopolitical and ethical sense is debatable.