I’ve loved fashion for as long as I can remember which has led me to where I am right now, on the brink of graduating with a degree in fashion design and entering the field. But, as much as my education has taught me to love design, it has also unveiled parts of the industry that were invisible between the pages of magazines.

This facade of beauty fabricated by the industry hides a vicious underbelly of the toxic and corrupt reality. From unsustainable production to unethical labor practices to unreasonable beauty expectations, the fashion industry is a hydra with too many heads to kill. The more I learned, the more I lost hope. Though my love of design persists, I’ve felt suffocated by the system.

The following are snippets from my full published thesis:

Philosophy also became a major inspiration for this collection, namely, Plato’s Allegory of the Cave and Juvenal’s Satire X. Both reference, the distractions put in front of us to distract us from noticing the truth. These thematic reference also inspired physical ones as well, taking inspiration from Greek and Roman draping.

A. Scrapped together/DIY nature of punk clothing in Vivienne Westwood A/W 2019

B. Juxtaposition of clasically feminine elements with kink in Richard Quinn F/W 2021

C. Transformative abilities of Hussein Chalayan’s Coffee-Table Skirt Fall/Winter 2000

Lastly, I conducted a design probe, asking a pool of 30 people about their associations with different materials in order to best depict evil. I landed on liquid latex based on my audiences responses.

I used the fabrics I sourced from FabScrap to direct my design process. The scrapped together nature of the designs allows for every last bit of fabric to be used.