Diagnosis

Diagnosis is a garment manifestation of the path to becoming diagnosed with an incurable invisible illness. The dress features a dramatically long train, symbolizing the decade-long path to diagnosis and the enduring weight of living without a cure. My illness causes severe abdominal and lower body pain, thus the lower half of this garment is the main focus. Consisting of multiple layers of fabric, representing the layers of tissue that hide the pain inside my body. The long strips are dyed and screen printed with the scope of my bladder, where my illness lies, each splotch capturing the unclosable wounds inside me. Underneath these strips is a collage of cut away knit, akin to tissue and muscle, the raw edges constantly deteriorating like my body is living with an incurable invisible illness. The multiple layers present are extremely heavy, meaning that anyone wearing the garment is physically burdened by the dress, acting as a simulation for the weight of incurable illness. Finally, the bodice of the garment was created through marbled and dyed patchwork, all the seams of the garment intentionally on the outside, putting the inside of my body, where my illness lies, outside, making the invisible, visible.