AZ FACTORY ARMOUR PROJECT “The Iron Maiden”

This fashion project investigates the unlikely yet conceptually connected worlds of medieval armor and the 1950s bullet bra, drawing parallels between their protective functions—both physical and symbolic.
In medieval times, armor was engineered to shield the body from violent combat, embodying strength, intimidation, and social status. It encased the wearer in rigid structure, defining the silhouette with power and purpose. Centuries later, the bullet bra emerged in post-war America, a conical undergarment designed to project an idealized feminine form while paradoxically serving as a shield of its own—guarding a woman's role, identity, and sexuality within a strict cultural framework.

This project explores the aesthetic and ideological intersections of these two objects. Through material experimentation, sculptural silhouettes, and garment construction that blends metallic rigidity with mid-century tailoring, the collection reimagines the idea of protection as performance. It challenges the viewer to question: what are we protecting—our bodies, our identities, or the expectations placed upon us?
"The Iron Maiden" ultimately reinterprets fashion as armor, not just for war or womanhood, but for the ongoing defense of the self in a world that constantly seeks to shape and expose us.