FASHION…what do you wear when you have only one breast…?
For the first summer holiday after my mastectomy ( 2009) I asked my friend Maria to make me a new MONOKINI from two of my old bikini’s ( see above pictures).
Whilst researching for this journal, I found out about Monokini 2.0 (2014), a swimwear collection designed by a group of Finnish fashion designers, modeled by women who have gone through breast cancer and photographed by artists. This brillaint art project takes a stand on western commercial culture’s narrow idea of women’s ideal appearance and strives to expand the idea of what is considered to be beautiful in the female body. The project emphasizes that beauty lies in ones confidence and community’s acceptance rather than in “the perfect body”. The creative leaders are artists Katriina Haikala and Vilma Metteri (art duo Tärähtäneet ämmät / Shaken-not-blurred). The original idea is by Elina Halttunen, the woman with one tit. (http://katriinahaikala.com/portfolio/monokini2)