This is a Bespoke Tailoring Project that took its inspiration from my lovely grandmother, Inci Baloglu.
She had a double mastectomy 12 years ago and is a breast cancer survivor. Because of her age, she did not want any implants and chose to wear a mastectomy bra. She does not wear it at home, but she is not confident enough to go outside without it. With this project I aimed to design a jacket that would answer her needs, that would free her from the mastectomy bra.
The final decision for every detail of the jacket from fabrics to trims as well as design features such as pockets and the collar has been made by her. Traditional tailoring techniques were used to create the intended structure, but the shape has been kept quite subtle as my grandmother preferred something that matched her everyday style. Because she wore a lot of neckerchiefs, I was inspired to create a jacket with a shawl collar, which was then combined into a vest as an extra layer of structure.
Especially in the times of covid-19 and being away from my family, thinking about how my family members could not visit my grandparents as much not to risk them, I am really happy I got to do this project “with” my grandmother. Her reaction in the end was so much worth the hard-work and it felt great for my hard-work to be recognized and appreciated, which is rare in the fast fashion industry. I am so happy to be able to look back into this project in the future as a great memory with my grandmother.
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