Artist, performer, stylist. Michaela Stark is all this and more. Her corset has become such a symbol of body positivity that during the last Milan Fashion Week she presented her brand Panty. A collection of lingerie suitable for all body types, spectacularised by her performances – such as the one in Milan at the Fondazione Sozzani – in which she shows all the softness overflowing from laces that are decidedly too tight. Here the corset from being a symbol par excellence of female oppression becomes a tool of women for a liberation of the body.
A similar performance took place last Sunday, 7 July at the Tate Britain in London. This time it was Michaela Stark herself who, like a sweet contemporary Venus, was panting among the modern paintings and burgundy walls. A bride-like drape covered Stark’s face, recalling Antonio Corradini’s statue of Veiled Pudicizia (Modesty), thus alluding to the sense of modesty that we women are expected to feel but which is undoubtedly demolished here. Similarly, the wooden structure that houses the proud body of the Australian artist and designer refers to a typical hanging scene. The cloth is also wrapped around her neck, embodying a crude critique that responds to a collective urge – that against patriarchy.
Styling and creative direction: @alex_francisco and @michaelastark Makeup: @kevin.cordo Hair @tasoshair Images: @raga.munecas Fashion assistants: @aoibhe.maguire @francescagilll @camryn_walker
