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Suspending Support: The Hidden Architecture of the Bra

Independent Project
Window Installation
Hybrid
Jan 23
–
Feb 01 2026
Free
Jan 29, 2026
7:30pm – 9:00pm
RSVP
Please email the organizer to reserve your tickets:
Open Mail or Copy Email
Window installations are viewable 24 hours a day from outdoors.
Broad Lingerie 2097 Danforth Avenue, Toronto
www.withmimi.ca
[email protected]

A bra is a building we wear. ‘Suspending Support: The Hidden Architecture of the Bra‘ reveals the unseen engineering of one of the most intricate garments ever designed. A giant bra (original design by lingerie designer Lily Fong) will be suspended in the storefront window. Each oversized element—cups, straps, bands, and underwires—is suspended mid-air, floating like fragments of a building under construction. Separated and enlarged, the parts expose the architectural intelligence hidden within an object often dismissed as simple or decorative.

Through scale and suspension, the installation transforms a familiar, intimate object into a study of structure, balance, and material tension. It invites viewers to look closer at how design, physics, and craft converge to create comfort and containment. The work celebrates both the ingenuity and the labour behind lingerie construction, honouring the diversity of bodies that bras are built to support.

On view in the window of Broad Lingerie throughout the DesignTO Festival (January 23 – February 1, 2026), this free public installation transforms the streetscape into a reflection on the design intelligence of the everyday.

In a city filled with glass façades, ‘Suspending Support‘ offers a different kind of architecture—one that lives next to the skin.

Participants

Mimi Art (Miranda Wickett), Broad Lingerie (Sam Conover)

Acknowledgements

LilyPad Designs logo (designer of original bra pattern)

Accessibility

Who should visitors contact with questions regarding accessibility?
Sam Conover
[email protected]
For projects with auditory components (e.g. talks, film screenings, tours), will there be sign-language interpretation, captioning, and/or live audio description?
captions will be available during online talk.
Is this venue accessible by wheelchair or similar mobility devices? This includes access to washrooms and all aspects of programming/events.
Venue for storefront installation viewing will be accessible 24/7. If you choose to visit inside the store, there is wheelchair accessibility via a small ramp. Washrooms are not accessible.
Can people get to the venue using accessible transit?
Yes
Illustration of two light-blue bras in a clean, stylized design against a beige background with faint gear and blueprint patterns. The bras, shown in front and back views, are outlined with dashed cut lines to resemble sewing patterns. Text reads: “Suspending Support: The hidden architecture of the bra.”
'Suspending Support: The Hidden Architecture of the Bra' transforms the everyday bra into a study of design and structure. The image echoes the installation’s concept—revealing the garment’s architectural precision and the beauty of its unseen engineering.
Illustration of a light-blue bra in a clean, stylized design against a beige background with faint gear and blueprint lines. The bra is outlined with dashed cut lines to resemble a sewing pattern. Below it, the text reads: “Suspending Support — The hidden architecture of the bra. A suspended study of the bra as an architectural feat — exploring how craft, design, and engineering meet the human form.”
'Suspending Support: The Hidden Architecture of the Bra' reveals the precision and design behind one of the most complex garments ever made. This illustration captures the exhibit’s balance of craft and structure — a suspended study of how design meets the human form.
Illustration of a light-blue bra outlined with dashed cut lines against a beige background with faint gear and drafting patterns. Beneath it, bold text reads “Suspending Support,” followed by a list of questions about bras: What makes a bra so structurally complex? Why do bras cost more than other garments? How does design respond to different bodies? Do you know all the parts of a bra? How many hours does a bra take to make? How is lingerie a form of design and care?
'Suspending Support: The Hidden Architecture of the Bra' invites visitors to consider the unseen design and craft of a garment often taken for granted. Through these questions, the installation transforms curiosity into understanding — reframing the bra as both structure and story. *These questions will be discussed in the online talk on Thursday January 29th at 7:30pm EST. Please contact [email protected] to register.
An AI rendering of the artist mockup of the storefront window displaying the text “Suspending Support: The Hidden Architecture of the Bra.” A stylized blue illustration of a bra appears on the glass above the words “Installation at Broad Lingerie, January 23–February 1, 2026, DesignTO.” Warm light from inside the shop reveals lingerie displays and soft wooden shelving. Giant bra installation will resemble this style of bra but span the entirety of the store front.
A preview of 'Suspending Support: The Hidden Architecture of the Bra' at Broad Lingerie. The window installation transforms the storefront into a study of structure, care, and design — revealing the architectural intelligence behind one of the most engineered garments we wear.