NORMÃLIAI
Vilnius Academy of Arts
assoc. prof. Renata Maldutienė
It is difficult to come across a well dressed man in any of Lithuanian cities. After closely observing the members of male sex in the streets, they almost appear to be wearing uniforms: mostly dark colours, short, comfy jackets, jeans or dark trousers, plain shoes. Men avoid accessories, colours, make-up, interesting haircuts and anything else that might be associated with women’s fashion. It appears that gender standards persist in the society, influencing the fashion world as well. NORMÃLIAI
is a fashion collection focused on the aforementioned phenomenon. In this collection I wanted to express my views on style and gender standards. This BA graduate project combines the masculine and feminine without either getting the dominant role, using the Lithuanian tropes of extreme masculinity and femininity (“gopnik” and “fyfa”). This way, I was creating the image of a non-stereotypical man and ironizing the so-called ideal. I am not urging Lithuanian men to wear in clothes I create – I just want to draw attention to the fact that they appear to be conservative and barely pay any attention to their personal style.
I believe that art and design can contribute to social education, and hope that my collection will affect at least one person, even if it may just be me. The creative process allowed me to expand my horizons and change my attitude towards personal creative processes. Changing what is normal and accepted is a long process, but no results come without actions. EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE NORMÃLIAI!
