O
nce upon a fashion dream in Dreamland . . .
Creative Direction by
Thet Nwe Oo Editorial Design by
Jae Eun Cho Illustration by
Hani Cho
As production of the Final Major Project for Creative Direction for Fashion (BA)
O
nce upon a time, in a land so galactically faraway called ‘reality’, a girl named Alexis lived in the
very fashion-conscious capital city known as Fashcity. Alexis, just like many of her peers, had this lifelong dream of becoming the next fashion superstar by producing a collection no other had ever produced before. Hence she was feeling very much under pressure, as the graduation day at her fashion grad school loomed closer and closer with each waking fashion dream. Alexis had an immensely vivid imagination and wild creativity that she knew enabled her to create a ground-breaking collection that would wow all her peers and seniors alike on the day of the graduation show, but at that moment she was facing just one teeny problem .
A VERY CLOUDY MISTY FASHION MIND BLOCK! Alexis had travelled to other parts of the world where women have rainbow-coloured hair and wear octopuses as hair adornments; the desert in the Middle East where otherworldly women with gold braids in their hair wrapped serpentine snakes around them as body chains; the oceans where mermaids with bright blue hair helped her collect the most beautiful sea shells for embellishments; and the lands of the deserted forests where Amazonian women writhed around gracefully in silk and satin robes of all pastel colours imaginable, draped across them as they danced under the dragon fires. Nevertheless, Alexis still had no starting point for her collection. All these wonderful visions she had seen, all these breath-taking views she had witnessed, all these achingly beautiful women she had encountered…yet nothing!
Alexis was getting desperate for ideas and desperation is not good for creativity. She did not want a collection that would look remotely similar to any of her classmates – oh no – nor a collection so predictably minimal that the audience would automatically doze off two seconds after the first model walking onto the catwalk.
As she got more and more frustrated with the fact that her final major collection might be the biggest flunk of her dreams, Alexis thought of one last desperate solution that might finally be the trigger to her blocked inspiration. She packed her favourite cocktail dress and her fail-proof heels along with her sewing kit and off she went into the wilderness outside the bright city walls of Fashcity… in search of INSPIRATION!
The South Alexis must have fallen asleep for maybe an hour when she was suddenly woken up by the sound of a carriage approaching nearby. Suddenly, she found herself in a dark deserted wood where trees had pitch black branches and there was no sign of life except for the sound of horses galloping and the carriage creasing along the pebbled ground. Feeling startled that she did not have a clue where she was, Alexis ran through the dark soulless trees as fast as she could towards the sound of the carriage.
The carriage came to a sudden halt as soon as Alexis stepped onto the cobbled runway beneath the tall, leafless trees. Then the carriage door opened and a tall, slim figure in a hooded cape stepped out and walked towards Alexis.
“Who are you?” the figure demanded in her husky, low voice.
“Hi... I’m… My name is Alexis! I think I’m lost! Can you please tell me where I am, please?” muttered Alexis whilst praying that this was all a crazy dream and she would wake up any second.
“You’re in the southern hemisphere of Dreamland and I am the Queen of the South!” The figure exclaimed loudly, and stepping into the moonlight so Alexis could finally see the owner of the voice. She was a slender, striking woman with a very perfectly tousled hairstyle that glossed over her head like a beehive, and she was wearing a beautiful black full-length velvet gown with lame trimmings that accentuated the Queen of South’s statuesque figure.
“I am Queen Suri of the South and I demand you explain to me what exactly you are doing here in my forests… Do you belong to any of the others?” the Queen asked.
“I really do not know what you mean by ‘the others’, and all I wanted was to travel to a new land so I can gather inspiration for my next collection! I’m so sorry. I really do not know where or how I even got here!” Alexis mumbled out the words whilst hoping ardently that the Queen could see through her honesty.
“Inspiration? Collection?” the Queen asked attentively and suddenly she was intrigued by Alexis’ss story. She examined Alexis up and down and then calmly said, “Hop into the carriage! Tell me more about this inspiration and collection once we are at the palace!”
The palace was dark…very dark! Everything was black and lifeless within the huge dark corridors that led to a huge drawing room where all the furniture were in dark rich winter colours, ranging from deep blue to dark mahogany to rich violet. Alexis kept wishing she would suddenly wake up and all this were just a dream, but it went on.
“So tell me…what is this aforementioned inspiration and collection?” the Queen asked sharply whilst gesturing her to sit down on the huge sofa adorned with black fur across the table from herself. “I’m from Fashcity and I need to have a collection ready for my graduation in four weeks’ time and I’ve come in search for last minute inspiration as I’m really struggling to come up with some ideas,” Alexis whimpered as her feelings gradually descended from being frightened to terrified.
“Inspiration for a collection? Here at the South, it’s all black! We only wear things by Saint Laurent and nothing else, or it is a case of treason!”
scorned the Queen as she looked at Alexis’s jeans and white t-shirt in disgust. With that she shouted, “Guards, take this girl to the chambers…give her some proper clothing!” Within seconds, two statuesque knights adorned in tailored velvet suits were by Alexis’ss side and ushered her along the corridors through several dark passages till she was in a magnificent bedroom full of black furniture and black silk beddings. Alexis was so tired that she quickly changed into the black silk dress laid out on the bed and fell into a deep, deep sleep….
The North Alexis woke up to find herself in a field full of poppies. The wind was blowing through her hair and there was a strong scent of spring around her. She looked around in bewilderment at the significant contrast in the surroundings she had just woken up in to, in comparison to the night before at Suri’s dark castle. Alexis stood up to find herself back in her jeans and t-shirt again and suddenly heard music from behind the trees in the distance.
Alexis peeped from behind a huge oak tree to find a group of beautiful women with flowers in their hair dancing along to some weird hippie music. Amongst them was a distinctively tall woman wearing a floral full-length sundress whose blonde hair sparkled in the sunlight. Alexis forgot where she was for a moment, so lost in the zest of the ambience around her that she barely heard the tall blonde woman speaking to her in a soft, uplifting voice.
“Oh hello little maiden… are you lost my dear?” she asked, smiling. She looked very much like Suri but unlike Suri’s dark, raven-like hair, this woman had blonde hair and was much more cheerful.
“Oh I’m… I’m Alexis! I don’t know how I got here! I was with Queen Suri of the South last night and….I, I just woke up in the fields!” Alexis muttered.
“You were with Suri!? Oh darling….well, welcome to the North! I’m Queen Salie of the North! Are you looking for something or someone here in dreamworld?” The blonde frowned briefly at the mention of Suri’s name with a hint of sympathy in her tone, as though having been with Suri was some sort of punishment.
“I’m searching for inspiration!” Alexis found herself gawping at Salie as the blonde continued swaying along to the music whilst talking to her. “I need ideas for my collection, which is in four weeks’ time!”
“Ahhh… a collection! How mysteriously wonderful! Well here at the North, we only wear Alexander McQueen my love. I mean we love shape and colour and embroidery and detail... You could do with a better dress actually... Ladies, fetch her something from the latest Spring Summer collection will you?”
Salie turned towards the other blonde women dancing around her who all looked just as fairy-like as Salie.
As Alexis followed the smiling women into a little coven surrounded by flowers of all colours imaginable, the ladies informed her that Salie made sure the North always stays happy and full of life, except for one thing…no one in the North is allowed to wear anything other than McQueen and no dark colours are allowed, not even in the winter! They gave Alexis a beautiful white embroidered dress by McQueen and led her back to where Salie was now sat with a banquet of fresh fruits in front of her on a wooden table.
“Sit my dear and tell me all about this collection of yours!” she beamed at Alexis as she handed over a glass of juice that tasted like strawberries mixed with candy cane. And Alexis drank and ate and talked and danced till she got so tired that she drifted off to sleep lying next to some flower bouquets presented to Salie by her surrounding female companions.
The West Alexis suddenly found herself standing on a street in a city made up entirely of marble stones….they were white and grey and shiny, and there were people in uniform grey structured garments walking past and around her while some stopped and frowned at Alexis in her white summery McQueen dress, which now looked so extremely out of place.
A man in a grey leather jumper and tailored grey trousers approached Alexis, took her by the elbow and whispered into her ear, “Walk quickly and follow me to see the Queen! You should not be wearing what you’re wearing!”
The castle was as grey and minimalistic as the rest of the city. The modern architecture within the palace walls reminded her of Fashcity as she was ushered along by the man in grey leather. But this was strict minimalism taken to a different level. All the service men and women within the palace looked immaculately dressed from head to toe in grey, black or white tailored suits without showing any expressions on their faces.
The Queen was a tall and willowy figure in a structured gown with a stern face. She reminded Alexis of Suri and Salie in her facial expressions but her hair was scraped back into a tight ponytail and she was wearing bright white lipstick. ‘Why are you here when you’re clearly one of Salie’s!?’ she demanded a response from Alexis even before Alexis reached the pedestal she was standing on.
Confused and scared, Alexis stuttered out the first words that came to her, ‘I-I-I really don’t know. I was with her in the forests and then I fell asleep and woke up here!’
The Queen stared right across at her and without steering away her penetrative expressionless eyes from Alexis’ss startled eyes, she sternly spoke again. ‘My name is Safaia and you are now in the West City of Dreamland! We don’t like colour here and your dress is blasphemously too much! Guards… get her in something from the Spring Summer collection and bring her back to me!’
Alexis was dressed in a tailored box-shape Balenciaga dress with her hair tied back into a slick ponytail and she found herself looking just as immaculate as the uniformed inhabitants of Safaia’s West City. Alexis found herself back in a marbled room with white walls and very plain, futuristic white furniture. In the middle of the room across a white shiny table sat Safaia, now dressed in a beautiful white leather dress with her legs crossed and her steely eyes looking at Alexis, but with a glimpse of approval now that Alexis was dressed appropriately for West City.
‘We like to look smart here in the West... Always Balenciaga. ONLY Balenciaga!’ She said softly and drifted away for a few seconds in her own thoughts. Alexis thought to herself that there may have been sadness in Safaia’s eyes as the Queen looked out of the window for a few minutes and the room stood still in complete silence.
‘What are you doing here anyway?’ Safaia finally broke the uncomfortable silence, now staring intently at Alexis again with her sturdy eyes studying the outfit her guards had perfectly chosen for Alexis.
‘I’m so sorry but I genuinely do not know how I got here. I was with Suri at one point and then I was with Salie in the forests and then I kind of, just, woke up here! All I wanted was inspiration for my collection and I don’t know how I even got to dreamland in the first place!’ The words came out of Alexis before she could even think and she could sense her own frustration in her sentences and so could Safaia.
‘A collection? Like clothes? Why would you need a new collection when you have something like Balenciaga?’ Safaia asked but Alexis was certain that an answer was not expected to that question. ‘I can’t help you…I doubt anyone in the West can, to be honest with you. Maybe those in the East might….they wear strange clothes with animals across their chests for goodness’ sake! Guards…take her to Starla!’
The East The East was probably one of the most versatile in terms of dress sense in Dreamland. The people were more at ease in their mannerisms and, like Safaia said, they were adorned in large baggy t-shirts with animals printed across the chest. Women wore dark, quite eccentric make-up and men wore their hair up in tight buns. Alexis suddenly felt a heavy tap across her right shoulder and looked up to a tall, striking figure dressed in a long-sleeved black dress with the Disney character, Bambi printed in monogram across the front. She bore a striking resemblance to Suri, Salie and Safaia but she was sporting very unusual make-up with drawings across her visage and black eyeliner dotted underneath both her bottom eyelids.
With eyes as dark as nightfall and lip colour so deep it reminded Alexis of the midnight sky, the tall figure spoke softly to Alexis as though she was reluctant to crouch over towards her so she could properly hear the words.
‘Has Safaia sent you? You are looking for a collection? What makes you think we can help you build a collection in the East?’ “I didn’t!” Alexis stammered back in fright, her head filled with incomprehension as to the happenings around her. ‘I don’t even know how I got to Dreamland in the first place! All I wanted was some inspiration for my graduation collection!’
“My name is Starla and you can spend the night in the East! But you have to leave in the morning… I don’t think I have enough of what you are looking for here in MY land!” Starla almost sounded angry as she said this but continued speaking in a much calmer tone, “I understand your search for inspiration but Dreamland is quite an unusual place to come for it! My sisters and I haven’t spoken to each other for many years now and we like to keep our cities separate from one another, especially in terms of dress!” Starla almost sounded as surprised as Alexis at her unexplained arrival at Dreamland.
“Here in the East, we don’t really dress too intricately like they do elsewhere in Dreamland. We like to keep it cool and casual in Givenchy as you can see around me!” She was right, in that the whole of the East looked effortlessly cool and modern in their black attire matched with ripped jeans and biker jackets.
Alexis followed Starla past the crowds of people until they came to a halt at a city pillar surrounded by people of the East City talking to each other, going about their day. The women wore printed boxy dresses with knee-high buckled leather boots whilst the men wore leather t-shirts and leather trousers. There was an unexplainable essence of cool about the East City – the main colour scheme seemed to be black but there were splashes of colour and print in terms of the ladies’ lip colours or in their mischievous prints across their clothes. Alexis was still taking it all in when she suddenly found herself drifting away into the darkness like a ghost that was never there in the first place…
Alexis suddenly woke up in an empty white space in a plain white dress. It was silent except for her own heavy breathing…this was the most dreamlike part of her entire trip to Dreamland. Or was she still at Dreamland? She looked around bewildered to see if there is anyone or anything with any kind of life nearby, but there was none! The white space was endless with nothing in sight for as long as Alexis could see. Alexis sat down and recollected her thoughts and memories of Dreamland – so many things happened, all so fast. But there were clothes – beautiful statement pieces from very creative designers she had never heard of.
And just like that, like a beacon of light, all the clothes flashed back through Alexis’s mind and boom! She had got a collection, inspired by designers with such delightful names such as Givenchy, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen and Yves Saint Laurent. There were prints – animals, florals; there was colour and flow; there was shape and minimalism, there was sharp tailoring and lace… Alexis couldn’t help but start sketching piece after piece on a plain white notebook she suddenly found lying next to her. She drew and drew and drew until everything drifted off into a dream.
Alexis knew all her peers and tutors would be astounded by such a fictional and fantastical mix of an eclectic collection. There was not a single theme coherent to the collection but as far as Alexis remembered, there were no themes or restrictions back in Dreamland except for some strict geographical classifications, but that did not matter in Fashcity. No one will have ever been to such a place as Dreamland nor had a collection this colourfully inspired... Alexis started sewing up piece after piece, carefully naming them Suri, Salie, Safaia and Starla as she hummed along to her favorite Britney tracks. Alexis knew deep in her heart that this collection was indeed her route to fashion superstardom!
Alexis Morigamo
With special thanks to
Hani Cho Jae Eun Cho