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The Unfinished Shape of Self

Zhexuan Zhu

Profile picture of Zhexuan Zhu

Fashion communicator.

I treat fashion as a quiet space where fragments of self take form. Through unfinished edges, digital traces, and soft distortions, I search for ways to hold what cannot be fully shaped—stories of becoming, faltering, and the silence between.

Fashion communicator.

I treat fashion as a quiet space where fragments of self take form. ...

This project centers on "the self as an imperfect work", exploring how individuals shape themselves in the face of helplessness, struggle and despair. The work borrows the visual language of ballet and plaster sculpture to express a state of fragility, incompleteness and constant self-polishing. Through hazy imagery, blank spaces constructed with white muslin, and the sense of detachment between the subject and the background, the work becomes a meditation on identity, self-awareness and the quiet beauty of imperfection.

Final work

The light fell upon me. In the dim white, my emotions were concealed in the black silence.
You have nowhere to run Otherwise, my existence would be meaningless.
I look at my work and see my own eyes in it.
  • I explored in my own world, shaping my own soul. But I was blindly consumed, and my perception gradually turned cold.
  • "This is a long process of shaping,painful…but hard to give up.Girl,understand?You don't have any other chance.”I looked into my own eyes,whispered...

Research and process

  • Clothing remakes and deconstructures, integrating elements such as plaster and ballet into the styling to represent my self-expression.
  • Drawing inspiration from Sally Mann's "immediate family"photography style,it creates an atmosphere of a lack of security and a damp,muddy environment.
  • I drew inspiration for my plaster corset from the armor-like top of McQueen's 1999 Fall/Winter collection.
  • I used a large amount of fabric remakes, attaching the plaster to the fabric, to ensure that the overall style of each element.
  • I incorporated a lot of plaster elements into my styling, and the inspiration came from my experience as an art student.
  • I used a large number of accessories to link together the various elements of plaster and ballet, which were originally unrelated.

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The Unfinished Shape of Self

This project centers on "the self as an imperfect work", exploring how individuals shape themselves in the face of helplessness, struggle and despair. The work borrows the visual language of ballet and plaster sculpture to express a state of fragility, incompleteness and const...

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