PRO is pro-woman, proactive, and professional.
Spring 2010 - Spring 2012

PRO is an investigation into which fashion elements women find most empowering, with the end goal of translating anthropological research into the design and fabrication of ensembles expressing strength, power, and true agency. From interviews and discussions with women from different walks of life in Pittsburgh, PA and Florence, Italy, there emerges distinct opinions and frustrations with fashion as an industry and as a social medium. This analysis leads to a better understanding of the inherent flaws in mass-produced fashion, high end branding, and the flawed ways society looks at women.

PRO was funded in part by a Small Undergraduate Research Grant from the Carnegie Mellon Undergraduate Research Office, and by the Marjory Glassburn Award from the Carnegie Mellon College of Fine Arts.

Photos by Michael Pisano

Runway footage: