Emma Bitzer
Collection
Portrait of Lady
Portrait of a Lady examines the construction of the “ideal woman” and the contradictions embedded within it.
Through tailoring, cut, and material contrast, I explore how opposing ideas, modesty and provocation, control, and vulnerability can exist simultaneously within a single garment.
All roads in my work lead back to women. I'm interested in the expectations placed on them, how they're constructed, repeated, and internalized.
There's something inherently contradictory in womenswear: the demand to be modest but desirable, controlled but expressive. It's rigid, outdated, and often absurd.
Through tailoring, cut, and material contrast, I explore how opposing ideas, modesty and provocation, control, and vulnerability can exist simultaneously within a single garment.
All roads in my work lead back to women. I'm interested in the expectations placed on them, how they're constructed, repeated, and internalized.
There's something inherently contradictory in womenswear: the demand to be modest but desirable, controlled but expressive. It's rigid, outdated, and often absurd.
The collection focuses on the tension between provocation and restraint. Structured, modest silhouettes are interrupted through cut, opening, and contrast. Each look holds both positions at once, allowing the wearer to navigate identity and self-presentation on her own terms.
Portrait of a Lady is defined by women and worn without instruction.
Portrait of a Lady is defined by women and worn without instruction.
Constructed from a dark khaki-grey cotton twill. Hand-dyed silk ribbons in burgundy and violet are hand-sewn across the surface, introducing softness and movement that disrupts the rigidity of the base fabric.
A structured double-faced wool dress with a controlled silhouette is interrupted by cutouts that expose the sternum and side of the body. The placement follows a curved line that mirrors the natural shape of the torso.
A cotton poplin flannel and skirt set treated to appear familiar at a distance, but unstable up close. The plaid is intentionally imperfect, over-dyed, and washed so the color bleeds and shifts across the surface, disrupting the expectation of precision typically associated with shirting.
A boxy wool top cut to expose the ribcage, paired with a narrow skirt that reveals the hip through controlled openings. The silhouette remains conservative at first glance, but breaks open as you look closer. Both top and skirt are constructed in gray double-faced wool.
Look 4 worn over the Emi dress
A light grey poplin dress with a tailored collar that is extended into a deep V, drawing attention to the sternum. The dress is constructed with hand-dyed silk ribbons that are sewn across the surface, creating a soft texture that contrasts with the structure of the base garment.
Bio:
Emma Bitzer is a womenswear designer from Germany, influenced by both European and American perspectives. Her work consistently returns to women, explored through a focus on color and materials. Working across mediums, her process moves between paper and digital, drawing, scanning, collaging and reworking, allowing ideas to develop through both physical and virtual forms. Her work is defined by an instinctive sense of cohesion, combining color, fabric, and form in a way that feels intentionally aligned.
Special Thanks:
Model: Aran Schaaf
Photographer: Grace Ann Leadbeater
Videographer: Jon Meharg
Music: S.Maharba, W.I.G.T.S
Christine Gabriel Emilie WangLucy HarmonAva Homampour
Photographer: Grace Ann Leadbeater
Videographer: Jon Meharg
Music: S.Maharba, W.I.G.T.S
Christine Gabriel Emilie WangLucy HarmonAva Homampour
Contact:
Instagram: _emmabitzer_