A female womenswear designer is an understanding designer. She understands the connotations construed by dressing the female body. Understands a woman’s personal and external sexualization. Understands a woman’s need for comfort and shrouding. Understands a woman’s desire to be seen as beautiful. Understands a woman’s experience intimately, so she designs sensitively. Lara Mallen’s “Birdhouse” is designed precisely in accordance with these understandings.

“Birdhouse” serves as a visual commentary on the effects of the societal views and pressures placed on the female body, reflecting on Lara Mallen’s own experiences of objectification, self-hatred, and dissociation.

Silhouettes serve to both exaggerate and shroud the body. Fabric is loose and flowing; ties strapping the clothes to the body. These ties are delicate yet necessary. Something easily undone, creating a precarious atmosphere. Clothes are styled pushed forward in reference to dissociation, or the feeling of leaving your own body; a feeling closely tied to the designer.

Natural fibers and dyes are at the heart of the collection. Patterns are used to mirror skin. The pointelle knits are in reference to the action of excising pieces of one’s skin in a methodical and repetitious way. Rust dyes are used to convey dirt: one’s own and society’s. The natural linens, cottons, and silks that serve as the foundation of these textile manipulations sit in reference to the natural human body.

The collection is photographed against the solid structures of houses and gates in back alleys conveying how a feminine existence is an existence tied closely to the margins of society. These women come out of gates and lean against these strong structures in solemn rebellion against the societal reality of their lives. Hair, accessories, and makeup are paired back. It is not about dressing up; it is about existing.

“Birdhouse” visually communicates the complex feelings of the female experience and intends to bring a sense of comfort and empathy to dressing. It is a hug for sensitive women who very much need it.