So as you may know, Williamsburg Fashion Weekend is something I look forward to very very much as a designer. It’s geared towards more conceptual avant-garde designers such as my self. It’s a show that has no rules, boundaries, or commercial limitations.
Backstage I was a bundle of nerves…making sure all my team members (models, hair, make up, support, etc) show up on time while managing press, logistics, styling, set up, and squeezing in a drink. However, this time around I was more confident, organized, and had a blast. Doing these shows is everything to me. It’s what I plan my year around, I live thru my collection inspirations and pull it all together.
One thing I can never get over is the insane amount of press/ people that get to see my work. It’s so gratifying to share my designs and concepts to a wide audience in New York.
About the collection:
Well…this collection took me about a year to really assemble. About 2 years ago I started to collect a lot of new wave records from the 80s, immediatly I was inspired by the album art, the sound, and the clothes. Soon I began to expand my wardrobe by wearing noting but vintage 80s designs followed by going to every 80s night club I could dance at. But new wave was not enough, I was also longing for VHS, a dead concept. I missed going to mom and pop video stores and renting movies. Seeing all the bizzare cover art in the horror section and being overwhelemd with video art, options, and neon was something I missed and wanted to bring back. A sensory over load of VHS horror cinema. Finally. I figured it out. I wanted to fuse together new wave and 80s horror, bringing back the splatter punk sub culture.
Moving forward with this inspiration, I created my own fabric prints for the first time, something I always wanted to do. I ended up taking screen shots from inspirational horror movies and creating cut up collage and keleidoscopic prints to bring back the sensory and photo over load I felt looking at VHS covers as a child. I also photographed neon light tubes, and did the same. After an entire summer of trial and error, figuring out color color saturation, printable fabrics, and digital image sizing, on top of the pricing, I finally produced my own fabric prints! A major triumph for me. But that was just the first half.
Clothes! I wasn’t just making a collection of fabric, I had to make clothes! I decided to make clothing that new wave queens such as Debbie Harry (Blondie) and Siouxe Soux would have worn during their prime in the 80s ( or now even! ). I used minimalist/futuristic shapes, staying true to my aesthetic, ultimatly creating clothing that’s perfect do dance in. I had to also learn how to make clothing that I could replicate. My last collection, each piece was one of a kind…resulting in minimal sales. This time, I had to think avant-garde…but commercially too. After putting together the collection while teaching my self basic pattern making, I cranked out a collection of 13 looks (with lots of interchangable seprates and even mens!). I also created VHS clutches, a flourescent light tube body harness + specs, and a video tape face cover.
Never in my creative process have I ever pushed my self this hard, even though I say that every time I finish a new creation, but this time I can just feel it…and I have to continue this progression until I make it. Making it means being self employed, being featured in Surface Magazine, getting my favorite performance artists into my clothing.
So now the collection is complete and making it’s way around. I still want stylists to pull pieces for photo shoots, I want to sell it, and I NEED NEED NEEEEEEEED to photograph it ASAP.
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