“Forgive me father” is an apology that does not belong to us. My bespoke fashion collection explores protection, restriction and physical burden through hostile textile development. Women’s safety advice often mirrors the way animals instinctively protect themselves from predators. Translated into fashion through natural and man-made forms of protection, these garments reflect the expectation that women must continuously adapt their behaviour to stay safe. Created for artist Lilith Morris, the project combines chain-mail construction, reconstructed motorbike garments, latex, laser cut leather, embroidery and 3d-printed elements to develop hybrid textiles that sit between armour and performance wear. The layering elements allowed silhouettes to be built into exoskeleton structures or gradually de-layered, where body access is controlled only by the wearer. Research into magpies stealing anti-bird spikes to protect their nests sparked my interest in how hostile objects could be reclaimed as forms of defence. This led me to reimagine exaggerated hip silhouettes, referencing restrictive Victorian garments from the 1870s ‘hysteria panic’.