Once Upon A Time...

Before I started college last September, the only sewing I had ever done was on paper...

I lived abroad during my first two years of high school and studied Art at the GCSE level in the United Kingdom. For those of you that aren't familiar with the system, its similar to the American A.P (Advanced Placement) courses. One of the unit topics was "city life" and so it began...my interest in the people flowing through the city and what their story was. I photographed plenty of people in the city, and became interested in who they are. Isn't that what fashion is? It's who we are. Some say we are what we eat, I say we are what we wear.

I spent two years working with color, figures, inks, city life, fabrics, and a sewing machine. My life as a fashion major was born as an art student fascinated with using a needle and thread instead of paint and brushes.

Sure, I integrated traditional materials like water color, pastels, and ink, but I was the only one in my class spending every day running my pieces through a sewing machine. I couldn't always control what I was doing, and often had no idea where things would end up, but thats the beauty of it. The loose and lively threads add life to the picture. Instead of hiding them behind the page, I left them loose.

My sketchbook looked like this, constantly experimenting with materials and application. I became fascinated with using the unusual. I took the usual, and tried to portray it using something unexpected.

My canvas was paper, but my paint was fabric, beads, and thread.

When I had to decide what to major in at college, I reflected on my four years of high school and thought of what I loved the most. Art. Sewing. What better what to merge the two together than through fashion design? 

I didn't know a thing about actually creating clothing, or using an industrial machine until January of this year, I learned a lot this year about the technical aspect of things. Which has left me with curiosity and excitement about creating fashion, driving me to thrift shops and ignored articles of clothing. So now I just approach clothing the same way I have always approached art. It's an experimentation. Just see where things go.