As part of the Magic Carpet 2.0 option studio at UBC SALA, Meena Chowdhury explored the intersection of young adult fantasy fiction, garment-making, and spatial design as tools for empowerment and representation. Her project, Breaking Uniform, critiques the limiting tropes of YAmedia — especially its lack of diverse and nuanced portrayals of femme characters — and responds through a speculative narrative set within a forest of third spaces. Each structure, tied to a character and a textile, functions as a site of transformation and self-expression. Drawing from her own writing, garment alteration techniques, and the Vietnamese Ao Dai, Meena’s work offers an alternative spatial language for characters navigating identity, friendship, and belonging outside institutional norms.

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