Common Threads

Studio Art Thesis
Pomona College
2018

I grew up in a family of gift givers. Whether it is something kitchy from a trip or a hand sewn garment, the thought, care, and love that goes into making or finding items for loved ones imbues those objects or pieces with meaning and importance. For thousands of years clothing was made and given as a gift by women, and I wish to pull upon this tradition by making perfectly fitted, versatile, character-driven clothing for some of the amazing women in my life. 

Fashion design is created to tell the story of the designer. High fashion is often never even meant to be worn, using up massive amounts of resources for a show that is only for the eyes of the elite. Fast fashion is even worse, driven by profit rather than quality or care. Clothing is produced using a standardized size, which is scaled up or down without much thought to proportion or individuality. This is a massive problem in the industry because women come in all shapes and sizes, and everyone deserves to have amazingly fitting clothing. Fabric is chewed up and spit out into mass quantities of poor quality fast fashion- and the result is over 14 million tons of discarded clothing each year. The Fashion industry is the second biggest polluter in the world, behind the oil industry. Millions of pounds of finished garments are not even sold, and the process of making them pollutes waterways and wastes precious resources.

I know the time and effort that goes into creating a single garment, and through more thoughtful, individualized clothing making I hope to do my part in making garments that embody the strength and beauty of the fabulous women in my life, and to produce far less waste than mass produced, profit driven garments. The jumpsuits you see in the show were produced using recycled materials, custom designed fabric in smaller quantities, environmentally friendly dyes and paints, and with as little waste as possible. Many prints were individually designed and ordered in the exact quantities necessary for the garment, resulting in zero waste. Several designs were hand dyed and painted using natural pigments on recycled fabrics, and I even incorporated old worn out shirts and fabric scraps from other projects that had meaning for the wearer.  Most importantly, they are comfortable, individual, fun to wear, and a marvelous way for me to give back to the women in my life who have given me so much love and support. These pieces, as well as the installation outside, celebrate community connections, time and dedication, and bringing art into the daily experience.