Starting from the dress as a form of artistic language, this work explores the potential of a so-called feminine poetics—as it might be articulated through the “feminine line” and the “feminine gesture” in artistic practice. At its core lies the question of whether, and to what extent, poetics can carry gender-specific connotations—particularly in relation to materiality, embodiment, and cultural encoding—and how these might be expressed visually, gesturally, or rhythmically within the artwork.

In this context, the dress is not only considered a symbolically charged object but also as an active, form-giving medium within contemporary artistic practice. Its proximity to the body, its sociohistorical density of meaning, and its aesthetic-material presence make it a central instrument for engaging with questions of gender, memory, and identity through artistic means.

The theoretical grounding draws from various perspectives on feminine writing, artistic gesture, and poetic strategies: Hélène Cixous’ concept of écriture féminine, bell hooks’ political reading of visibility, Rozsika Parker’s analysis of textile gestures as subversion, and Gloria Anzaldúa’s spiritually and culturally situated poetics all serve as diverse points of reference. In addition, Judith Butler’s theory of performativity provides a foundation for reflecting on gendered ascriptions, further developed in the work of artist and scholar micha cárdenas under digital and trans/feminist frameworks.

Against this backdrop, key questions emerge:

• In what ways can the so-called “feminine gesture" be understood as an expansion of a “general” poetics—beyond categorization or normative boundaries?
• What possibilities does such a poetics offer as an artistic means to make subjectivity, agency, and cultural memory visible?