The corset is one of the most misunderstood garments in fashion history. It's an easy target for fashion revisionists: removed from the body it once adorned, the corset's stiff structure, and it's unforgiving gridiron bone frame, looks suspiciously like a medieval torture device: crude but effective.

“It would be a terrible thing to have to wear that every day, all day. It would be like living in a cage,” says Zoe Helene, MFA, cultural activist and founder of Cosmic Sister, a women's collective promoting gender equality. “[Corsets are] absolutely about holding women back. There’s no doubt in my mind about that, and if you have a doubt, you haven’t worn one long enough,” says Helene.

Zoe Helene is an award-winning creative professional with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting & Design from the University of North Carolina and a Master of Fine Arts in Professional Theatre and Costume Design from Brandeis University where she was mentored by legendary costume designer Patricia Zipprodt.