Fashion Portfolio
A selection of pieces designed and made exclusively by me between July 2018 and February 2020
To make the graphics for my first streetwear collection, titled Ennui, I made charcoal portraits attempting to find the exact amount of detail that a portrait required in order to be recognizably a face. I created the portraits by placing a piece of burlap over a piece of paper before placing a chunk of charcoal on top and using a hammer to smash the charcoal through both layers. The burlap and the paper beneath it are depicted in the bottom left. Both the burlap and the paper were photographed and then these photos were overlaid through various methods (pictured above the burlap and also in the middle row of the sweatshirt's graphic). The images were then manipulated and overlaid in a variety of different ways to create the nine distinct renderings on the sweatshirt.
Each rendering uniquely deprives the viewer of some amount of light, contrast, or depth necessary to formulate a complete image.
Ennui Collection
Undergirding (Parsons Summer '19)
My "Undergirding" collection, which I designed in a "Fashion: Visual Presentation" course at Parsons School of Design in the summer of 2019, was inspired by the hidden underbelly of New York City - the underrepresented and underappreciated people, as well as the commonplace physical substructures that support the glamorous aspects of the city. This idea is exemplified by the middle piece in the top row. The front part of the blue silk shirt, which symbolizes the glamorous facade of NYC, is peeled off of the figure and dangles below her waist, revealing the rusted rebar corset beneath. The shopping cart design (top row, second from the right) symbolizes both the consumer culture of NYC as well as the large homeless population that collects recycling and carries their belongings in shopping carts. The bar chained to the wearer's neck symbolizes the weight of industry on this population. The blue, green, and black pattern featured in the collection is from an original fabric I designed.
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Inspired by the rebar corset featured in my "Undergirding" collection, the copper pipe corset is symbolic of both the under-recognized structure that supports the world we live in and the historic oppression of women through fashion. While for some people clothes serve as a liberating source of personal expression, for others they serve as confining and oppressive tools harnessed by society to force women to conform to a single idea of beauty. The corset's cold metal material and
cage-like structure completely restrict freedom of movement and require the assistance of another person in order to put on and take off; again highlighting the historical narrative in which women are dependent on others.
Copper Corset
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Although fashion is a progressive industry dedicated to new ideas and fresh interpretations, bridal wear is characterized by its attention to tradition, classic lines, and established conceptions of beauty. A wedding dress is viewed through a lens calibrated by expectation.
I designed this wedding dress to acknowledge some traditions and challenge others. The bodice of the dress has clean lines, a deep V neckline, and princess seams - all attributes of a traditional wedding gown. In contrast to the refined attributes of the bodice, the skirt's rough-cut edges and loose drape create a raw and natural aesthetic. Additionally, accents of color in the skirt challenge one of the most fundamental western expectations of bridal wear: that a wedding dress must be white or off-white. By blending layers of warm grey/brown and light blue tulle to create a grey undertone with spurts of bright color, the dress becomes more expressive and responsive to movement and changes in lighting.
Wedding Dress
After seeing the graphic interior design fabric sample in the store, I immediately envisioned it on the back of a coat. Although the coat has a jean jacket cut, many of its finishes are more refined. For example, rather than buttons, I installed a hidden silver zipper to create a cleaner and more symmetrical appearance. I used bull denim to create a smooth texture with a stiff appearance: retaining the positive properties of denim while having a more uniform and clean appearance.
The numerous design elements of the coat work subtly to minimize distractions and keep the viewer's focus on the graphic design work. The graphic fabric is interesting for myriad reasons, most notably the prevalent depiction of the eyes, a clear connection to my brand Les Yeux, which translates to "the eyes."
Face Coat
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The featured garment from my Politik collection (visible on my website at www.lesyeux.design), the sweatshirt offers a satirical jab at tourists who, eager to check off the Mona Lisa from their bucket lists, flock to take pictures of the art. People in the crowd hold their phones above their heads as periscopes in order to see the art "in person," obscuring the view of other tourists. To make the graphic, I used photoshop to splice together pictures I took of other people photographing the Mona Lisa, and to adjust the image in order to highlight the phones and painting. The back of the sweatshirt has a list of dates and locations styled like a concert T-shirt. This itinerary outlines the fastest way to experience all the culture of Europe, seeing all of the "can't miss" pieces and understanding none of them. Interestingly, in the months following the release of this piece, the New York Times published several articles on the same topic, notably "Want to See the Mona Lisa?" (8/12/19).
Photo-Checklist-Tourism
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What began as a learning exercise for a wedding dress is now a stand-alone piece that juxtaposes material characteristics of the natural world. The heavy wool in the cowl creates an unexpectedly airy and loose look near the top before transitioning into a form-fitting bodice. The reflective copper wires mirror this shift as the sprawling branches congregate near the waist, mirroring the silhouette. While both mediums converge, they do so in distinctly different manners: the cowls create a subtle transition from protuberant folds into soft curves and the pointed metal branches abruptly condense through sharp kinks.
Copper Branch Cowl
A response to the Copper Branch Cowl piece, this copper bracelet highlights the process of decay through using oxidized metals to depict the growth of bacteria.
Decay: Bacteria Oxidation Cuff
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The flowers, made of trash bags, symbolize a future in which human and industrial garbage overwhelms and expels nature. I intentionally placed the smaller flower over reproductive organs to illustrate how killing plants (and thus the environment) will prevent the procreation of human life, jeopardizing the future of the human race.
The larger flower is attached to a garbage bag that is wrapped around the wearer's neck to strangle them, just as air pollution reduces air quality and inhibits breathing. The dangers of pollution are ironically exemplified by the warning label that is visible on the white garbage bag that reads "WARNING, TO AVOID DANGER OF SUFFOCATION, KEEP THIS PLASTIC BAG AWAY FROM BABIES AND CHILDREN. THIS BAG IS NOT A TOY".
Dead Flower Dress
The white strips of fabric on the black base of this coat are used to accentuate certain lines of the body.
Worn Treads
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Parsons Leather Jacket
I designed and constructed this leather coat during a "Fashion: Sewing & Construction" course at Parsons School of Design in the summer of 2018.
This coat explores the power of suggestion in lines and form. The tailored seams are accentuated by bright external stitching.
Curved Forest Coat
I made this weekend bag from a discarded strip of interior design wall paneling fabric that I found. Having never made a bag before, and lacking any sort of comparably sized baggage to reference, I developed the pattern for this bag purely geometrically. The bag has slightly ovate end pieces and a continuous piece of fabric for the middle section.
Because the vinyl was designed as a wall covering, it doesn't respond very well to being continuously bent and manipulated like it would be in a shoulder strap. By wrapping each vinyl strap with leather, I increase the strength, feeling, and longevity of the strap as well as adding an aesthetic element to the piece. Due to the varying appearance of the vinyl depending on the lighting, I paired the vinyl and light brown leather with a bronze colored zipper and D-rings to ensure that the colors would complement each other regardless of the light conditions.
Bronze Vinyl Weekender Bag
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This handmade wool sweatshirt depicts the role of God and religion in converting a person's time into their achievements. The back of the sweatshirt shows God taking sand from the top of the hourglass, which represents the amount of time left in someone's life. The front features a charcoal drawing of God sprinkling this sand into a pyramid that symbolizes the great works of humanity.
In order to make the hand that is stitched in vinyl on the back of the sweatshirt identifiable as the hand of God, I referenced the most famous depiction of God's hand: Michelangelo's "The Creation of Adam." By depicting the hand of the Christian God, while featuring an accomplishment from ancient Egypt, I expand the scope of the piece beyond any one religion or time period. The piece speaks to the role of all "higher powers" throughout the entire span of humanity and their roles in motivating people to create wonderful feats of human accomplishment, such as the Sistine Chapel and the pyramids.