Who Wears the Pants?

This recent project of mine was made possible by a group of supportive friends. The film features trousers I digitally printed, constructed and styled myself. Enjoy!

Who wears the pants? from Aana J on Vimeo.

Shout out to Generation Y! While equal opportunity between men and women in the workplace environment has gained increasing support. There are currently 12 times as many men as women on the boards of the top companies and women in senior roles are earning an average of about 30 per cent less than their male colleagues (the latest census on women in leadership shows). We are the future of global change and it is time we ‘re-dress’ the continual issues of unequal pay, power and position in the workplace between women and men. As we follow our destined career paths into our adult lives, it is important that we are aware of unequal opportunity within the current corporate world. We are directly affected by these issues. So I urge you to stop for a moment, look at your own situation and ask yourself: ‘Who wears the pants?’ Here is a closer look at the collection of trousers I created the prints for and put together myself to be used in the film campaign...







































The idiom ‘who wears the pants’ stems from the time of patriarchy, when men went out and worked, while women tended the home. During this time it was considered taboo for women to wear trousers and it was only in the 1970’s that trousers became acceptable for western women to wear.
The issue that I set out for my project to address is the problem of unequal pay between men and women in the current workplace environment.
My concept is communicating underlying notions of imbalance and inequality between two individuals. As a result of this project, I want to prompt the viewer to question their own position of power, within their own workplace relationship, asking themselves: “who wears the pants”.
Today in Australia, women can still earn 16-25% less than men in equivalent jobs. This graph shows us that the pay gap has gone back to where it was in 1989.
“Equal pay for equal work.” It’s the same issue raised at a rally 103 years ago in New York City where 15,000 women marched through streets demanding their right to equal pay. There are still too many workplace environments where women are not given the chance to wear the pants.
My project aims at creating awareness amongst gen y which is generally those aged 18-27. They are the future of our workplace community. I set out to target both men and women this age as the issue is going to affect them directly. They can make the changes necessary to make the workplace an equal playing field in the future.

The shape

Everything old is new again...

Throughout this project I was inspired by my own childhood. The first white dress I ever wore was a white christening gown and it connects me to the primary concept of innocence and simplicity.
I wanted this project to capture the playfulness and joy of youth. The process of constructing everything and documenting it all was just as fun.
My brother photographed my dress with me at our local park, where we used to play and laugh as children. A great nostalgia of the past was evoked when we were surrounded by the old familiar swing. The location is sentimental to me and is filled with memories of happiness.
The dress itself is beautiful in its lightness and ease, reflecting my concept of youthfulness and simplicity associated with "old" memories... "Everything old is new again".
Embodying the competition brief "Everything old is new again". I took an 'old' piece of vintage lace to create something 'new', which is the brass waistband with the imprint of the old lace rolled into the surface.
I utilized my skills as a jewellery student to cut a 0.8mm brass sheet into the appropriate size, and then I annealed the metal with a torch. After that, I hand rolled the brass and lace together through a rolling mill and hammered it into shape.

Pop Ya Collar!

A choker i created from brass sheet and persex, all cut with a hand saw and riveted myself.
The idea behind this piece was that it could be worn with collared garments in replacement of a tie or other form of neckwear. The jewellery piece could almost be considered a garment itself, blurring the lines between costume jewellery and clothing.

A date with New York City.

My editorial which was used in a student online fashion magazine at Parsons.
Each of these people were randomly selected on the Streets of New York on a cold day in December... I had the pleasure of getting to know them beyond the interviews. Each one of them had an amazing story to tell. *Click to enlarge and scroll through each interview.

My New York.

A video i made with all my original footage and imagery over the past 6 months i have spent living in the most amazing city in the world. New York you were everything i imagined and so much more. I will miss you and remember our time together for the rest of my life.

My New York. from Aana J on Vimeo.

On MakeUp Magazine Illustrations.

http://www.onmakeupmagazine.com

A selection of my illustrations which were selected by the New York team at ONMAKEUP Magazine. The 'Sophia Loren' portrait was done in watercolour and the 'Paris' piece was illustration entirely with makeup.

UnFashion

I made all garments and accessories myself during my 'Unfashion' class in the fall semester of 2010 at Parsons School for Design, New York.