Trompe L’Oeil en Corps
This work explores trompe l’oeil through sculptural garments, using material illusion to question perception while examining the shifting space between fashion and art. Rather than treating clothing as something purely wearable or sculpture as something fixed, the project asks where one becomes the other, whether any distinction exists at all, and how material can destabilize what the eye expects to see.
Each piece begins with details taken from the way clothing behaves, particularly wrinkles and drape, but is translated into hardened forms that preserve those fleeting qualities in a fixed state. Across the three pieces, illusion is extended through material transformation: one appears carved from stone, another suggests metal, and one takes the form of a plain white T-shirt. The T-shirt holds particular significance in its familiarity, using an ordinary garment to test how far something simple can be pushed before it becomes something else entirely.
The process began with an exploration of resin and fabric and gradually developed through experimentation with ceramic finishes and metallic treatments, as the work became increasingly focused on how surface can distort recognition. Together, the pieces form my own approach to trompe l’oeil in fashion, using hand-built forms to push familiar garments beyond their expected limits and into something less easily defined. The work remains grounded in craft, driven by the desire to make material behave unexpectedly so that what at first first appears recognizable shifts under closer attention.
Design Senior Thesis
Fabric and Resin
Piece 1/3
Piece 2/3
anniebingle@gmail.com
Instagram: @agbingle
Anna Bingle ...
is a Design major at the University of Pennsylvania, with a concentration in Graphics. She has studied fashion and visual communication at Parsons School of Design in New York and has worked across styling, branding, and creative direction. She is experienced in graphic design, fashion styling, fiber arts, and brand development. In addition to her studies, she designs and sells handmade crochet pieces, writes for Penn’s fashion journal The WALK, and works as a creative assistant for emerging New York-based fashion labels. She is driven by a love of storytelling, self-expression, and the power of wearable art.
University of Pennsylvania — Philadelphia, PA
B.A. in Design, Concentration in Graphics — 05/2026
Goldsmiths, University of London — London, UK
Study Abroad: Design + Fashion Courses — Spring 2025
Parsons School of Design (New School) — New York, NY
Fashion Design & Visual Communication Summer
Program — Summer 2024
Creative Assistant - Lucille New York
/ Two Bodies (Abby Earley) — Remote + NYC
2024 – Present
BTS Content - Calvin Klein
New York Fashion Week S/S 26 Show
Fashion Intern – IMG Models (Endeavor Internship
Program) WME Fashion — New York, NY
Summer 2023