Life’s Labyrinth on the Body
While the production of the wearable sculptures and accessories of my thesis collection Life’s Labyrinth is complete, I have larger plans for the presentation of the collection through installations and online. Those plans are very much still in process, but the 14-month creation process is complete and I do want the hundreds of hours of work I’ve put in to be seen and appreciated, and showing the completed pieces helps contextualize my plans for the presentation. Just know that there are far more photos and details to come!
Massart Senior Fashion Show
The event I was working towards during the entire creation cycle: this show is the graduating seniors of the Fashion Department’s big exhibition and presentation of our thesis collections. I’m still so full of relief that I made it to this day, and still SO grateful to the models, the DJ, and the friends who assisted me day of with makeup and prep, who all helped my vision come true!
Fittings
After model casting was finished by mid-April, I was able to meet with my models and begin one of the most important steps— fitting the garments to the body! Even with the effort put in through casting to collect measurements and match them to my garments, almost no body in the world is the exact shape and size as the dress form so of course small adjustments were made— adjusting hems, adding extra supports, taking in darts, etc.
Fashion Department Photoshoot
About halfway through Spring semester, the Fashion Department holds a photoshoot to document the work of students, seniors and their theses especially. I was in the dead middle of the five piece collection with two and a half pieces completed and most accessories still in prototype versions. This was the first time I was able to have the pieces actually worn, so I tried to think of the photoshoot as an in-process documentation, and learned a lot about what adjustments needed to be made between this photoshoot and the show— adding linings, restructuring the shoes, finding and addressing any stray sharp pieces of mesh, and of course completing all the garments and accessories.
Photoshoot—Behind the Scenes
This was honestly a very stressful day. I had been working non-stop for days to try to get as much done as I could for the shoot, and had several panic attacks over the impending shoot and not being ready. Day of I was just FRAZZLED and in a haze trying to get everything ready and then completed as shoes fell apart, I had to make quick model changes, and just the general mayhem of the day. Didn’t even notice these photos being taken of me!
