My entire thesis presentation: here is the written description of my concept 

At seven years old I knew I wanted to be a designer. I was obsessed with princesses; particularly their big, frilly, campy princess gowns. I started designing my own gowns at that age, filling sketchbooks and taking inspiration from the fairytales I was so obsessed with. When the pandemic hit, and I was forced to leave the city for my parents house, I had another chance to take a look at those designs from my childhood which then became the building blocks of my concept, as I noticed that my aesthetic had both changed and not changed at all since then.

Each look in this collection represents a different fairytale role. I took these roles and distorted them, taking the usually “pristine” and “innocent” styles of childhood fairytales and making them edgy, grungy, a little slutty. The world centers around my characters: the Jester, the Wicked Witch, the Knight in Shining Armor, the Fairy Godmother, the King, the Evil Queen, Prince Charming, and the Princess. Creating this world provided me with a mode of escapism much needed during this challenging year.

One of my goals with this collection was to analyze my own aesthetic; how it has evolved as I’ve grown up and as I’ve received criticism on it.  In the past I have felt the need to censor the darker, more scandalous themes of my designs in order to please my professors and peers, to appeal more marketable and professional. I have finally unlearned this and instead, I have leaned into the skid, so to speak, in order to fully embrace aspects of my aesthetic that are clearly not going anywhere.

In a way, my thesis is a rebellion against all the pressure to edit out the costume-y, silly, and slutty traits of my work and instead,  adopting and elevating them, while returning to the source of inspiration that made me fall in love with fashion in the first place.

Now it is worth noting how big of a role my friends who modeled played in this collection.

None of the pieces in this collection are in sample size, each was custom made with my models in mind from the start. Taking into consideration their body types, tattoos, and what makes them feel most comfortable and confident. Each look was designed to be re-styled and worn by my models  outside of the context of this collection, that way all of these pieces I’ve slaved over have a life that is just beginning.