Portfolio

Ties That Bind

Digital collage, gouache illustrations. Final collection photographed by Kayleigh Pace, 2020.

This collection was developed as an homage to my Italian heritage and strong family connection. Growing up I remember sitting around the Kodak Carousel with my extended family and learning to love where I came from. The idea behind this collection is that everyone has people that they are “tied” to whether that is by family or friendship or all else; so, each of the garments has an aspect of being tied together.

Print design inspired by my family crest and woven by WOVNS.

All logos belong to Kodak Company, Copyywright 2020

More is More

Mixed media collage, gouache illustrations. Final garment photographed by Mackenzie Schaeffer. 2019.

As a designer, especially in the time we live in now, I am constantly faced with the fact that the fashion industry is hurting the environment and that clothing has become such a disposable aspect of our lives. The problem is, as a designer I also have a deep love for clothing and always want to create more. I often ask myself what aspects of fashion make people want to keep a piece, rather than toss it to make room for the next passing trend. In this collection I wanted to take a look at this internal struggle by questioning whether more, is in fact more, or if we can learn to rely on fewer, more special pieces, that we can truly appreciate.

All fabrics recycled from previous projects. All fabric manipulations and surface textures created by hand. More is More print, hand cut and stenciled on black rib knit. Black wool suiting, pleated and hand painted on the face. Ruffles were individually placed and sewn.

Paper Dolls

Digitally rendered illustrations. Hand-painted final garment photographed by Mackenzie Schaeffer. 2019.

In this collection I wanted to take a look at sustainability from a different direction. My inspiration came from the Renaissance era when people used to tie in their sleeves. Rather than buying dozens of extremely expensive gowns, women would buy a few bodice/skirt combinations along with many different sleeves. This would allow them to change their sleeves depending on the event or if they happened to get dirty, instead of replacing the entire dress. I thought that this would be an interesting concept to apply to full garments, allowing each piece to be completely interchangeable and detachable. 

Although consumers are becoming more aware of the footprint their clothing is leaving on the environment, they are still wanting more and more. The idea behind this interchangeable collection is that it would limit the number of garments a consumer would need to own, while still providing versatility of outfit possibilities

Glow in the Dark

Digitally rendered illustrations, technical drawings and collage. 2019.

I created this collection as a proposal to the London based ready-to-wear brand, Allsaints. The brand is heavily inspired by rock and roll and its rebellious and independent nature. The aesthetic that they maintain, as stated by their creative director, is “dark romance”. I wanted to stay true to the brand’s identity by pulling inspiration from rock legend Stevie Nicks and the band Fleetwood Mac. I was intrigued by the photographs of her on stage under the lights and wanted to emphasize her femininity in a world of dark grunge. The stage lights inspired my silhouettes, style lines and print design.

This collection was designed with sale and production in mind. To view the technical specifications of the collection click here.

Under it All

Digital collage and illustration. 2019.

This athletic wear collection was inspired by the way that women desire to present themselves juxtaposed with the way that they are really feeling due to societal and internal pressures. While the looks are mostly made up of clean lines and fabrics, one can notice the tight, restricting pieces on top of the larger garments that create interesting silhouettes and gathers representing the different “shapes” of every woman’s life.

Rococo Reimagined

Mixed media collage. Gouache illustration. 2018.

I pulled inspiration from my favorite era for this illustrated collection. The small waists and exaggerated skirts of the 17th century are some of the aspects that I chose to focus on when designing these looks. It is interesting to me to examine historical fashions and interpret them in a modern way, in this case making them less restricting and more wearable and fashion forward