Written by Jordan Santiago. Photo by Jordan Santiago.
In the year On November 4, the SCAD Fashion Exhibition was held at the Pei Ling Chan Gallery. I had the pleasure of going there for a photo shoot for the exhibition and asking the designers questions about their design inspirations, concept stages and processes.
First, I spoke with designer Noel Thomas. For her collection, she realized that no fewer than thirty brands catered to people with disabilities, so she began researching the different types of disabilities. She also felt that the work process was very fluid. The hardest part of making this collection was making sure the voices of people with disabilities were heard. Noelle herself does not have a disability, so she felt it was important to do relevant research to empower people with disabilities.
I also interviewed Penny Zhou. The concept of her collection was inspired by the 18th century corset merchants and the Sado style, but mixed with modern structures. A challenge she faced while designing this collection was designing patterns. She wanted to make sure the designs were true to her inspiration, Sado’s style.
The third person I spoke to was Seing Chen. Her collection is based on fashion and how technology is developing. She wanted to emphasize the digital feeling by using very geometric shapes but with natural elements. She started and finished with the digital platform and the finishing touches were print patterns. The digital nature of her collection made the workflow very efficient.
Finally, I got to interview Li Zhang. She started with the idea of descriptions. She began the project by using a 3D model to create and manipulate fabric shapes. Basically, it provides 3D preview and inspiration. The most difficult part of the project was the printing, because she wanted everything to feel different but also work together.
It was fun talking to all these designers and looking at their work. It gave me a lot of insight into what fashion design is like, along with the struggles and challenges of the process.
