"The aim of my brief was to design and produce a corset that is inspired by ocean life, and the various threats associated with humankind’s impact on the ocean. Growing up in a rural Queensland town and having snorkelled reefs across Australia, I have always been fascinated by marine life, particularly due to its diverse and entirely unique nature. Over the past few years, I have become increasingly aware of the impact of human activities upon ocean ecosystems, with a large focus on over-fishing, pollution, and coral bleaching as a result of man-made climate change. Our ocean ecosystems are not only completely unique in terms of the diverse flora and fauna found beneath the surface, but the ocean and its inhabitants are fundamental in regulating the Earth’s climate, yet our acceleration of climate change and overfishing are vastly wiping out underwater life, which in turn is only further increasing the dramatic warming of the Earth. It is so important to conserve these ecosystems, therefore I wanted to communicate this message in the unique format of fashion design rather than other conventional art forms such as drawing, painting or sculpting. Since many ocean creatures die as a result of pollution, such as being entangled in netting, I wanted to abstractly convey the idea of ‘constriction’ or ‘being caught’ by creating a corset, since these garments are stereotypically depicted as causing the wearer to struggle to breathe or cause pain due to the tight lacing."

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