In my accessory design, I have been very focused on eyewear, because I believe eyewear is a product category that lacks differentiation. My eyewear blends silhouettes that are familiar to the average consumer with materiality that is unconventional. Many of the pieces feature hand-appliqué work that is difficult for factories to produce in scale. These appliqués include ornate crystal work, hand-set metal findings, and fragile insect components.
In my clothing design, I have focused specifically on menswear. Similar to the eyewear design, I approach menswear by designing from forms that are already familiar to menswear consumers, while remixing the surface design of the garments. As such, a lot of my design emphasizes digital textile print development and unconventional materiality. In addition to use of unconventional materials and prints, my menswear design tends to me more tight-fitting and/or revealing than traditional menswear.
My aesthetic values are dependent on the way that materials interact with light. In my accessory work. I use reflective materials on products that traditionally don’t feature reflective materials. Specifically, the crystals I use reflect available light. Given that any pair of glasses can feature hundreds to thousands of crystals, the eyewear amplifies the light on the face of the wearer, thus calling attention to them.
With regards to clothing, I work with an abundance of hyper-saturated color. This color makes individual pieces stand out to the eyes of viewers. When several pieces are worn together as a look, the use of color ties them together as a coherent whole. Furthermore, these looks are reliant on layering, a process which amplifies the colors inherent in every garment.
Technology is the essential component in the production of my work. Specifically, the use of a computer. I use my computer for most steps of the creative process, from doing research to making my patterns. After patterns are completed, I use tools that are more familiar in the fashion design process: Scissors, fabrics, threads, and sewing machines. One thing I emphasize in the production of my garments is technical construction. Given that I want to sell to consumers, it is important that interior edges are thoughtfully considered and garments are stitched in an appropriate manner.
Technology is essential to my creative process. I believe in the power of technology to automate those tasks that can be repetitive or even robotic for a human to perform. By bringing technology into my design process, I hope to eliminate some of the unnecessary work that designers to everyday. Furthermore, technology eliminates waste, a goal I believe all designers must be working towards given the dangers of climate change. Digitizing my work makes my job more mobile, thus allowing me the ability to travel the world while maintaining a design practice.
I’m interested in contradictions. I work with silhouettes that are designated for certain occasions, cultures, events, or economic classes. I reimagine these silhouettes in materials of my own creation such that they lose their uniformity and conformity and begin to look like expressions of individuality. By creating a look of garments from a range of occasions, cultures, events, and economic classes, I .dismantle some of the notions of masculinity associated with those signifiers. By doing this, I hope to question why menswear is a category that is so restrictive, and as a result, encourage more men to be creative in how they dress themselves.
