Paige Muir

2025
Economics. Film Television and Theatre. Sport Media and Culture. Digital Marketing.

I am all of the stereotypes. I am the athlete, the academic, the good girl, the ice queen, the masculine and the brave one. I am a multitude. I am singular. I cannot be defined. 

I am inspired by the work of artists like Thom Browne and Cindy Sherman because they make us confront gender and the cultural constructions involved to achieve identity. And the construction to get to our “identity” is really just a performance. As women, we do this every day when getting dressed. Choosing a sweatshirt versus a dress will change how you are viewed for the rest of the day. It can be a daunting task. Depending on what I wear I could be perceived as lazy, intelligent, strong or weak. As a young girl, I opted for audacious pink cowboy boots as the perfect accessory for any outfit from my school uniform to my First Communion dress. Those boots possessed power in their statement and display. They made me different, they made me unique. Now I look for the perfect sneaker to elevate my casual and formal outfits, but I possess less creative gallantry and freedom today than when I was young because the perception of what stereotypes I encompass often consumes me. I have always been fascinated by power, gender, and stereotypes, especially in fashion and sports.

I’m looking forward to this class to explore the way Thom Browne plays with uniformity as individuality and discuss how he blurs gender lines in his aesthetic and collections. I very much admire his creativity, his vanguard fluidity in fashion, and his business sense.