“INFLUENCED”
Benefit Fashion Show for Gen-Austin
In the fall of 2019, I was asked to design a collection in the production of "INFLUENCED," a benefit fashion show raising money for GEN-Austin, in my hometown of Austin, Texas. Each designer was tasked with designing their collection based on an influential artist. I chose Frida Kahlo, a female artist who has always inspired my creative practice. Kahlo is a compelling feminist and an LGBTQ+ figure whom I have always admired for her willingness to push social norms and challenge conventional modes of representation in her artwork. My collection is inspired by Kahlo’s distinct color palette, her appreciation for the natural world, and her self-awareness in her artwork. In making this collection, I wanted to challenge myself to produce a sustainable fashion line by using recycled fabrics to produce each garment. It was exciting to find fabric in unexpected places, including scrap bins, nooks, and crannies of my high school's art room, and in my collection of hand-me-downs from my Grandmother. When first sketching my designs, I wanted to combine elements of Frida Kahlo’s style with the colors and textures of her artwork that I found inspiring. My collection features a lot of natural imagery, bold colors, and graphic prints. Each piece was designed to uniquely represent the individual who modeled it, which was inspired by Kahlo’s unique portraiture. The material I used was also conceptually linked to my designs since my use of second-hand fabrics allowed me to represent a diverse array of textiles that each carry unique histories. My Grandmother’s textile scraps are intricately woven in with thrifted tablecloths and upholstery fabric samples, combining and empowering the presence of my female role model and of a lineage of female textile makers in various cultural contexts. The process of creating this line and studying such a powerful woman allowed me to synthesize my interests in art history and fashion, become more confident about my design aesthetic, and practice sustainable design and production.
