A Powerpuff moment

Style Edit #3

As back to the office mandates are starting to kick-in, some with more flexibility than others, we are all in need of a power suit. But not the pre-pandemic type, the bold one.

To imagine what I would want to wear to crush the corporate world but still feel the comfort of my own space, I get inspired by Ines Longevial’s creative process and especially her Powerpuff painting she posted on Instagram.

The artist mentioned she gets inspired by observing women around her, the way they move, talk and evolve within a space, to undertake the representation of women in their rawest form – both physically and mentally.

Her work, from close portraits to nudes in saturated color palettes a la Pablo Picasso, does not cater to the male gaze and underlines the power of the subject through unsexual nudes allowing a deeper form of engagement and identification with the feminine audience. Her subjects are not trying to please anyone, they exist in plain form and sight.

More importantly, she takes great importance in conveying the mental space in which her subjects are (inspired by Auguste Rodin and Camille Claudel), translating emotions on their faces and opening a window into the personalities of the women she represents, against the traditional lack of agency of the women depicted in art history.

Her painting, therefore, is an invitation to think about the control we, as women, still have to take over our lives, and for me, how we can dress to take this control. It is not all the work, but it can help to get into the right mental space.