Franziskus Poeschl

My fashion is a self-portrait, through it I create a world to prosper in. As this actual world has left me and so many like me feeling alienated. As queer people, especially trans and gender non-conforming people, we create ourselves. We unlearn what society told us and we eventually find our authentic identities. Every breath we take is a political act, to which we had no choice. Every so often it feels like no one ever wanted us here, but we are here. We are flourishing, asking questions, and we are celebrating our lives as we slowly let go of the shame that is so deeply engraved in us. For so long I did not see a future for myself, at least not a desirable one. Sometimes I still do not. But sometimes when I am able to express with fashion what I can not with words, I do see it, a desirable future for myself and for my community

My work is a love letter to all those people’s lives that touched mine, to the dreams I had for so long and never thought were right for me to have. I create my garments with my head in the clouds and as an emotional response to my environment. I attempt to develop a fluid and sensual approach to fashion that neglects all ideas of gender and instead focuses on garments that drape around you like a loving touch. That celebrates the joy I found in my identity, hoping to pass on this joy to those similar to me.

And just like queer lives build themselves on community and an ever-developing understanding of human relationships and identities, all my choices within my work were informed by the values and processes of my community. None of the fabric and materials were bought, they were found in the streets, passed on from family, repurposed from previous clothes, and collected by friends. The embellishments were made from broken jewellery. I try to cut the fabrics I use as little as possible. Instead, I drape and pleat a continuous piece into the shapes I desire, to reduce waste to the minimum and to open up the possibility for the fabric to be changed and used for future garments. My work is inherently sustainable as marginalised people have no other choice really than to use their materials conscientiously and make them last for a long time period.     

Queer people have always been marginalised yet we managed to make our most glamourous fantasies become reality: we are used to mining for materials from the most curious places, and we learned that our community nurtures us. My work is inspired by the countless times my friends and I, my chosen family got ready in messy rooms filled with random bits of fabric, feathers, and rhinestones we all collected together and as we transformed into the dreams, we never thought we could make reality.