Naoise MacManus

Glass Blocks is a womenswear collection exploring the relationship between glamour and the construction of the ideal self. Glamour depends on a mysterious blend of accessibility and distance, combining to form a distinct translucence. The artifice and illusory qualities of glamour stem from its roots in tales of witchcraft, where it is depicted as a magical seduction that distorts vision and misleads its victims in confusing yet alluring ways.

Seduction cannot function without the individual’s desire to be seduced, and desire lies at the very core of glamour: a concept known to be false yet felt to be true. Regardless of the specific desire, glamour always reveals emotional authenticity. It exposes truths about what we desire and what we might become, acting as a mechanism of longing through which we construct idealised versions of ourselves and build identity.