Chloe McGoldrick

For my senior thesis, I explored the intersection of historical and subcultural aesthetics by combining influences from the Elizabethan era, clown iconography, and 1990s grunge and kinderwhore fashion. I began with in-depth research on Elizabethan fashion, focusing on elements such as sumptuary laws, undergarments like the Spanish farthingale, and theatrical costuming. From there, I studied the evolution of clown figures — from 16th-century jesters and Pierrot to modern interpretations — as symbols of both playfulness and melancholy. Finally, I examined the visual and political impact of the grunge and Riot Grrrl movements, drawing inspiration from figures such as Courtney Love and Kat Bjelland. This multidisciplinary research informed the conceptual framework of my collection, which fuses exaggerated silhouettes, distressed textures, and gendered performance to explore beauty, chaos, and control through dress.