My project explores the figure of the unmarried woman - the spinster - in relation to textiles tradition.
Originally referring to a woman whose occupation was to spin yarns, ‘spinster’ became a derogatory term which describes an unmarried woman, especially an older woman who is unlikely to marry. The unmarried woman is thus inherently related to textiles from a language perspective. In France, where I come from, single women are also related to textiles through the ‘Catherinette’ tradition which consists in giving richly decorated bonnets to single women over the age of 25 on Saint Catherine’s day.
This project aims to question the role women are meant to play, analyses how unmarried women are perceived and highlights their ambiguous status: stigmatised yet celebrated, powerful thus feared.
I decided to focus on six different stereotyped characters which emphasise the dichotomy of the spinster’s figure. While the three first characters highlight the unfortunate faith of the stigmatised unmarried women, the three other characters reveal the idea of spinsterhood as a powerful choice: old maid, cat lady, redundant woman, career woman, witch and self-partnered.
I want to reclaim the word spinster and give a new overtone to it. Unmarried women can be blossoming and glamorous. Ageing should be celebrated.
Models - Sue Winter, Jessica Winter, Jen O’Farrell, Coco and London

Photographs - Raphael Bliss

Styling - Hamish Wirgman, assisted by Kit Rimmer

Make up - Lynski

Hair - Benjamin David