Collection 2020 | RISD Apparel Design

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×»‡*∆≈÷¤¬:+/≠◊≥∙Ω›∑∂&#$\∫∞ All works in this publication belong to students of Rhode Island School of Design Department of Apparel Design class of 2020.

To view the full BFA graduation show visit https://2020risdsenior.show Copyright ©2020 Rhode Island School of Design

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www.risd.edu

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Intro Letter from Lisa Z. Morgan I F***ing Love Fashion

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@risd1877

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2020risdsenior.show Introduction RISD Apparel Design

Each spring, the talented seniors in RISD’s Apparel Design department fine-tune their personal aesthetics and create a cohesive series of looks for their senior thesis and the annual Collection runway show. This year their intensive race to the finish line was interrupted by the global COVID-19 pandemic, which sent students home to shelter in place while completing their studies virtually.

Just before the seniors left campus, the designers featured in this look book worked with accomplished NYC photographer Max Luger, who captured the essence of their style in the images that follow.

While static representations of wearable art cannot express the dynamics and energy inherent in the work, we hope that they will provide a sense of each designer’s overarching vision and shed light on some of the thoughtfully crafted details that are frequently overlooked during a fashion show.

Also included in these pages are the manifestos the students were required to write last fall—words they have revisited again and again in an effort to use their work to communicate their intentions and values. As a group, the graduating Apparel Design class of 2020 enjoys a shared sense of responsibility for protecting our planet and considering all of the people who are part of the making process in the fashion industry.

The students were also asked to describe their collections in terms of scent, thus expressing their ideas from a more sensory-oriented perspective.

If their designs were perfumes, what would they smell like? The mossy underside of an ancient stone?

Tulips? The seashore at low tide? Our partners at International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF) will work with select students in the coming months to create actual scents that reflect their visions and perspectives.

We applaud the courage and determination of the Class of 2020 and offer this book as a keepsake honoring their incredible efforts, compassion and solidarity during this crisis. And although the future is more uncertain than ever before, we have no doubt that their talents and positivity will contribute to a more equitable, sustainable and beautiful world.

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An unprecedented year

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COLLECTION 20 @risdapparel Letter from Lisa Z. Morgan RISD Apparel Design

It is difficult to describe the shock we experienced when this global pandemic led to the early and unexpected closure of RISD’s campus on March 17, 2020. The feeling was in stark contrast to the energetic shift in mood this time of year usually brings. The emergence of spring dances in concert with the materialization of the Apparel Design seniors’ ideas and visions, which have been building and developing over the course of the year.

Spring at RISD is marked by anticipation, trepidation, hard work, focus, nerves, exhaustion, excitement and sometimes tears. We are buoyed by fast-approaching deadlines, reviews, crits and other rituals that feed into the momentum of Commencement and preparations for the post-college flight. Perhaps the most meaningful of these rituals for seniors in Apparel Design is Collection, our annual runway show sharing the work and love that have been applied — consistently and relentlessly — with family, friends and other members of the community.

This year, however, was like no other, and these vital rites of passage were ripped away with such swiftness and force that their loss will forever shape the Class of 2020.

As our altered reality took hold, there was an outpouring of emotion among seniors in the Apparel Design department, but this was also openly met with commitment and spirit. The seniors have continued to develop their collections during lockdown in an array of quickly fashioned home workshops around the globe, producing impressive results.

This book pays tribute to the Class of 2020 and to their work, and the breadth of approaches, processes and methods that have driven them. Included are their personal manifestos, expressing their mission and the values they stand for as designers, thinkers and sentient beings. This group of seniors seeks to implement and inspire change by committing to ethical and sustainable practices, gender inclusivity, body positivity and community, and they believe that fashion has the power to bring about the changes they want to see.

The scent descriptions they wrote communicate the experiential considerations of their design and expression via nonvisual means — moving away from the thinking head into the sensing body.

I would like to thank the Apparel Design faculty members for working with the Class of 2020 and particularly Catherine Andreozzi and Mary Kawenski, who guided and supported the seniors through their last year at RISD during this unprecedented time. I would also like to thank International Flavors & Fragrance for their continued support and look forward to experiencing the 12 scents they are creating in response to this year's collections.

Finally, I say to the Class of 2020, despite your misgivings you have demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are ready to fly. Moreover, you have done so with joy, imagination, denim, seeds, workwear, irreverence, frustration, rust, care, leather, yarn, curiosity, bottle tops, optimism, naughty dollies, humor, glamor, activism, power, piercings, petals, labor, latex, precision, upset, chiffon, flowers, focus, concern, ribbons, awareness, attitude, resilience, jute rope, silk, fairy tales and heart. So much heart. I have no doubt that you will make your marks as designers, thinkers and makers and look forward to watching you flourish.

It has been such a pleasure to work with all of you this year.

I leave you with a poem by senior Kyra Buenviaje. These words were written in response to a prompt, before the pandemic struck.

Kyra articulates the complexities of fashion, along with our passionate and sometimes fraught relationship with it. However, she also communicates succinctly that the most fulsome experiences and impactful work often grow in the midst of contradiction.

Fabulous hats off to you all, Apparel Design Class of 2020!

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Lisa Z. Morgan, Department Head

F***, I love fashion. Nothing compares.

It’s all I see.

That tree is dressed in leaves, that brick wall is dressed in windows, that foot is dressed in a shoe.

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I F***ING LOVE FASHION

By Kyra Buenviaje

F***, I love fashion. Nothing compares.

It’s all I hear.

That sexy sound of pants being zipped up, that crisp sound of pattern paper being torn, that rustling sound of the bracelets on your wrist.

I can taste it, like an eternal aftertaste.

You linger in me, fashion.

You linger in my thoughts, you come up in my words, you’re with me all the time.

F***, I love fashion. Nothing compares.

Fashion that moves, fashion that stands, fashion that envelopes you as you are.

Fashion that’s clever, fashion that’s conceptual, fashion that’s a white t-shirt.

Poem by Kyra Buenviaje

You’re all I feel.

2020risdsenior.show

F***, I love fashion. Nothing compares.

It’s all I smell.

That scent of silica from your new purse, the smell of deodorant that clings to your shirt, that whiff of dust from the muslin you just tore.

Fashion that’s clear, fashion that’s confusing, fashion that’s deafening, fashion I can’t even hear.

I f***ing love fashion. Nothing compares. I love it when I hate it.

I hate fashion that lints and tears.

I hate fashion that duplicates, that comes in three sizes.

I hate fashion that’s not worn, that’s stuck with a tag in your closet.

I hate fashion, you shit on the earth.

I love fashion, a chance to fight for the earth.

RISD Apparel Design

Fashion I can’t put on, fashion I can’t afford, fashion I don’t even know.

I hate fashion, you suck people into your materialism.

I love fashion, a chance to give and receive.

I hate fashion, you’re fake, for show, allow for disparity.

I love fashion, a way to be who I am, to share who I am, to get to know you.

F***, I love fashion. Nothing compares.

It’s who I am.

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RISD Apparel Design

Alla Alsahli

@allasahli

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COLLECTION 20 www.allasahli.com

Alla Alsahli

I am a believer in sustainable living and positive environmental change, motivated by the simplest of efforts to preserve the earth we live in. I strive to challenge my approach in art and design, to constantly think of the lifespan of a material or end product.

Fascinated by design in the realm of technology and science, I sense the potential in sustainable design and the creation of innovative materials. I have decided to use bagged juice because it appears to be embedded in many cultures. The problem lies in its failure to change at a time when pre-existing solutions are present. My concept is not only a reflection on the waste from the fashion industry but also on the general build-up of materials that live without a cycle. I ask that we reassess the way we process things by looking at the damage that has already been done and figure out the future of materials and forms of delivery.

Alla Alsahli RISD Apparel Design 13

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RISD Apparel Design

Alla Alsahli

@allasahli

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If my collection were captured in a scent, my perfume would not smell directly like fruit; instead, it would bring back the memory of what fruits tasted like as a child. It would have a sweetness that immediately brings you back to certain juices or candy that you would buy off of the streets. When you smell it, you promptly look for color. Similar to the colors that would emerge in the cringe-worthy commercials of rainbow candies or cereal.

The saturation of the fruit and its transformation to its most unnatural form. The sweetness is unnatural but appealing; it draws us in because it is addictive. In the end, it is sugar.

www.allasahli.com Alla Alsahli RISD Apparel Design 15

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Alla Alsahli

@allasahli

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www.allasahli.com

Alla Alsahli

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Kyra Buenviaje

@kyrabuenviaje

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I make clothing that feels unbothered when worn, and works in synchronicity with the individual movement of the body.

Denim is a fabric that sings. It is durable, versatile and, in my eyes, absolutely stunning.

I am motivated by pieces that last lifetimes, that travel, that are passed on from one to another, gaining more life as they age.

www.kyrabuenviaje.com

Denim is essential and I only use recycled and repurposed denim.

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I seek to empower the space between the body and the fabric that covers it.

This space will be an unfailing source of freedom and comfort.

Kyra Buenviaje

I make womenswear through a menswear-tailored lens.

I seek to create pieces that can be worn excessively, and worn confidently at that.

I complicate the classics as I tweak with a sense of adventure and a curious disposition. Concept must be ever present.

Kyra Buenviaje

I am grounded by the classics: a crisp white shirt, a wool jacket, a pair of straight-cut denim jeans. The familiar is my playground.

I resolve the complicated, the tweaked, the imagined with relentless empathy.

Everything sealed with careful thought and consideration.

I vow to create with purpose, always with joy, never without love.

RISD Apparel Design

My clothing will be a bolt of energy. It will give and take life from its wearers.

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It will smell like Juana.

It will smell like her spirit, the spirit of a hardworking, free-spirited and graceful Filipina.

It will smell like a finished day, a lived life.

RISD Apparel Design

Kyra Buenviaje

This scent is a day in the life of Juana.

It’s as if you took her denim clothes, right before she changed into her nightgown, and squeezed them out to distill her day. It is the scorching sun she absorbed when she woke up, the sweet, sweet instant coffee she had with her breakfast, the whiff of pollution she got sitting at the back of the tricycle traveling to work. It is the scent of the fields where she works as a farmer—the sweat, the ground, the crops. It is the microphone she used in karaoke, the bag of Chippy she snacked on, the steaming cup of rice she had with dinner. It is the scent of the friends she hugged, her sister’s laughter, the hands of her parents which she blessed herself with.

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www.kyrabuenviaje.com

Kyra Buenviaje

RISD Apparel Design

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Kyra Buenviaje

@kyrabuenviaje

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www.kyrabuenviaje.com

Kyra Buenviaje

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Caitlin Chiocchio

@sea_strands

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COLLECTION 20 www.caitlinchiocchio.com Caitlin Chiocchio

Something that I believe in is the concept of “tabula rasa,” that everyone is born, in some way, as a clean slate. I was placed in my environment as a blank canvas, and my slate was painted with the beguiling grey blues of the shore and the glimmers of ivory shells, warm dunes and pink granite. My stimuli consist of the soft bombarding of salt air to the skin, sounds of a gull’s cry or the moving toll of a bell buoy in the night, and the smell of motor boat fuel drifting across the harbor.

My sensory experiences have shaped me into a walking capsule of my environment.

It is this that motivates me to create work focusing on my home, otherwise known as Stony Creek or the Thimble Islands. It’s more than a home, it is ingrained in me, I have a love for it, and it has completely overtaken my visual inclinations in a way that I cannot control.

I realize that I am immensely lucky to live in a place that I perceive as magical — but not as lucky as I thought, it turns out. My little haven will not be spared by the wrongdoings of man.

The tides will rise, within my lifetime, to surpass the floodlines, rendering the space nearly unlivable as is.

I have a need to preserve this piece of me.

The preservation happens in two stages: prevention and immortalization. The prevention consists of me striving to do my part to better the environmental problem at hand.

The immortalization phase focuses more on ephemerality and capturing the fleeting beauty that will inevitably be gone one day.

I must bring consciousness to the dire climate issues as well as awareness to this niche beauty that I wish to bring to everyone’s attention—in hope that others can appreciate it as much as I do, even if their individual slates were painted with another palette.

Caitlin Chiocchio

The Prevention and the Immortalization

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COLLECTION 20 @sea_strands Caitlin Chiocchio RISD Apparel Design 26

Flesh and Stone Soft, saline inundations.

Coastal rosehips, warm and sweet.

Pink bedrock, and a quivering of the sun.

Clamshell driveways, hot, baked enamel.

Wet summer skin, flesh and stone.

Lacquered floorboards, a coat of brine.

The head-spinning smell of boat fuel, and the deep, alive, musk of low tide.

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www.caitlinchiocchio.com

Caitlin Chiocchio

RISD Apparel Design

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Caitlin Chiocchio

@sea_strands

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www.caitlinchiocchio.com

Caitlin Chiocchio

RISD Apparel Design

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RISD Apparel Design

Vanessa Chiriboga

@vanessachiribogart

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I am committed to making clothing that tells an enduring story and maintains life after serving its traditional purpose of covering the body.

I aim to use natural materials so that they can eventually disintegrate.

I wish to translate how garments are evidence of the passage of time.

I believe that the final look is an ephemeral idea of what is in fashion at the time but the process of creation is evidence of growth, craftsmanship and care.

My intention is to realize the connection we have with nature as a source of life.

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I want the meaning of clothing to be about valuing the process of making more than the final outcome.

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I aim to make the ones that are.

Vanessa Chiriboga

So few garments are made to be remembered forever.

Vanessa Chiriboga

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Vanessa Chiriboga

@vanessachiribogart

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Waking up in the morning to the smell of earth, after the rain, Sipping fresh naranjilla juice with foam disappearing midway,

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Stain

Using dresses as baskets to grab lemons from the trees, Pilling them up to the top, with some falling on the way, Tossing them around on the trampoline, crushing and squirting, jumping as high as they do,

Opening the bright red achiote with seeds staining all around,

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Running through the corn maze, stomping on cow manure and hay,

Climbing avocado trees to see how far could be seen, Chasing chickens through thin pathways, avoiding every spine,

Pouring honey over them, eating them one by one, Turning on the hose to slide down the muddy, steep hills,

Vanessa Chiriboga

Gathering the darkest black berries that could be found,

Plucking lemon grass to prepare black citrus tea, Lying down in the fresh cut grass, sweating in the sunshine,

RISD Apparel Design

Waiting for nature to keep growing till next Sunday arrives.

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RISD Apparel Design

Vanessa Chiriboga

@vanessachiribogart

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Vanessa Chiriboga

RISD Apparel Design

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RISD Apparel Design

Izabela Clarke

@izabelaclarke

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www.izabelaclarke.com

If we embody this state of slowness, we will rethink our co-existence with friends, trees, animals and spirits. And as a result, our awareness of our shared environment will flourish.

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Thinking, is this a model of goodness?

Izabela Clarke

I believe that we must slow down: slow our mind, through conscious breathing slow our bodies, through long walks slow down our consumption and become aware of our habits and routines.

It’s time to learn to disengage with existing systems.

Izabela Clarke RISD Apparel Design 37

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Izabela Clarke

@izabelaclarke

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www.izabelaclarke.com

Izabela Clarke

RISD Apparel Design

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COLLECTION 20 @izabelaclarke Izabela Clarke Wood burning slow, cutting through fogged morning air overwhelming the purity of a new day ◊ Leaving one smoke infused— skin, hair, clothes.

RISD Apparel Design

A straw hat rests upon lake-wet hair, loosely covering burnt shoulders ◊ A dusty cloth bag holds dried orange sustenance.

Hot urine trickling down your leg, look for a leaf ◊ Toenails tinged with mud, baked in a summer’s day.

A nauseating magnolia tree, in full blossom ◊ A magnolia flower in a glass bowl held up by water.

Sun-bleached linens hang on the clothesline: monogrammed pillowcases stained with bloody noses ◊ Nana’s handsmocked, starched blouse, the armpits of a cream ribbed tank marked with sweat.

A recording of personal history wabi sabi: imperfection is beautiful.

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www.izabelaclarke.com

Izabela Clarke

RISD Apparel Design

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Hannah Davis

@feeling.feisty

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I make clothing that is worth the environmental impact Things made with high-quality materials Carefully thought out in design and most importantly, made to last

Hannah Davis

I make clothing with an almost clinically insane attention to detail I seek a perfect mess

www.hannahdavis.design

I hate boring garments that can be found at fast-fashion stores I want something new I want something interesting I want something a bit dark I want something that sparks an emotional reaction I want to make clothing that is unquestionably unique

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I enjoy the organic curvatures and shapes of the human body I enjoy finding the lines and curves to hug, wrap, follow and compliment its form I love skin I love sheer I design with moments of indulgence I want my wearer to feel sexy, without being exposed

Hannah Davis

I believe in the color black Its dark oasis has a transformative power to turn someone into a different character It’s empowering, edgy and demands a confident attitude Its possibilities are endless

RISD Apparel Design 43

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Dimmed blue fluorescent lights of an operating room soft faint buzzing The sterile flavor of Purell creeping up my nose it stings it climbs up my nostrils tickles my brain and awakens my fear

RISD Apparel Design

Hannah Davis

@feeling.feisty

Sweat drenched hair cemented to my forehead my skin damp and sticky

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Metallic it infiltrates my spongy skin it seeps into me and invades my veins Pins and needles in your foot delightful fluttering numbness light prickles delicately dance around your bones gentle paralyzing kisses remove the weight of feeling but soft pins turn to coarse needles stabbing static dig into your tissue crippled with torment Numb numb with fear i feel nothing i am nothing Blackout

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www.hannahdavis.design

Hannah Davis

RISD Apparel Design

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Hannah Davis

@feeling.feisty

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www.hannahdavis.design

Hannah Davis

RISD Apparel Design

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RISD Apparel Design

Kendall Emerson

@kendall.emerson

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Define normal.

Normal people aren’t normal. So, never be normal.

Abnormality is reality.

Always create. Creation leads to progress. Progress may lead to failure, but failure leads to success.

Never create for the sake of creation.

If your work is silent and speaks to no one, then you have failed.

If it repulses, revolts, horrifies or satisfies, you have succeeded.

It is always better to disturb than to comfort.

Make yourself uncomfortable.

Steel must be melted before it can be forged.

Kendall Emerson

Question everything around you.

Question yourself.

kendall457.wixsite.com/website

Your freakishness is your freedom.

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Everything comes full circle. The Good and the Evil will be buried next to each other. Not separated.

Kendall Emerson

Notes on Humanity

Listen to the stories of old. Pay attention to who the villain is.

Pain is a teacher, not an enemy.

Fear is a tool, not a weapon. Love is a sacrifice, not a sacrament.

Your heart is an altar, your body a temple: scarred and decorated by time. Do not trust the believers who come to defile it in the name of worship, who seek to peel up your blackened walls and cover them with gold and artifice. They have no love for your heart, only your walls, as seen in their image.

RISD Apparel Design

Your darkness is your humanity; it is capable of great horror, but even in the darkness life does grow.

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Clothes are the exoskeleton of the person.

Buy clothes that you will never throw away. Find pieces that are inherently timeless and comfortable that speak to you. Everything you wear is in some way a statement.

@kendall.emerson

Clothes are a second skin, one that will constantly be shed and regrown, always brighter and tougher than the last.

As a skin, your clothes are an armor.

They will defend and protect, as much as they will make you vulnerable to the judgments of others.

To horrify is to change.

To be monstrous is to be human.

RISD Apparel Design

Kendall Emerson

The first prison created was the human body, the soul bound in flesh and bone.

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COLLECTION 20

kendall457.wixsite.com/website

Kendall Emerson

RISD Apparel Design

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COLLECTION 20 @kendall.emerson Kendall Emerson RISD Apparel Design

I Know I Am Strange (And I Don’t Quite Care) Monsters are real. This much I know.

They are tied to us, by place and time.

They are the monuments to our sins.

They make no sound, they exist in no real memory.

They dwell in dreams, our created duality.

Out of time, and out of place, they exist within the threads of fate, the fabric of reality.

They are neither angels nor devils, though many have called them so.

Their faces are painted by dreams, by the things we know.

They flare from fire, a smoke from the heart’s desire; sweet and scandalous, dead and well.

Not what you’d expect, from an inhabitant of hell.

They sit in my parlor, and eat spiced cake, Cinnamon, they said, reminds them of the Bloody Lake.

They prefer sweet to sour, the aged hardwood floor, the leather of chairs and the ebony door.

They give me advice, and are real I swear, Just because you don’t see them doesn’t mean they aren’t there.

At least, that’s what I tell people, when I see them everywhere.

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COLLECTION 20

kendall457.wixsite.com/website

Kendall Emerson

RISD Apparel Design

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RISD Apparel Design

Amanda Glickman

@amandaglickmanstudio

COLLECTION 20

amandaglickman.myportfolio.com

I believe that it is time for women to wear clothing that literally shines, to highlight their curves, accentuate their tummies, praise their bosoms, accent their butts, glorify their “lacks� thereof.

COLLECTION 20

I believe that what makes a body beautiful is also what makes it unlike other bodies, and this beauty and difference must be outwardly celebrated through the act of dressing up.

Amanda Glickman

I believe that glamorous clothing can no longer be reserved for the minority body type on which it is often found.

Amanda Glickman RISD Apparel Design

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COLLECTION 20 @amandaglickmanstudio Amanda Glickman RISD Apparel Design 56

Gold on skin, frigid and tarnishing A sweet, obnoxious floral since before I was born One big Bernese Mountain Dog A box of every letter received Diamonds in the safe, seldom worn Exuberant furs, protected by dust Soft because it’s embedded in her cashmere sweater Strong when she walks by Or in a crowd Every Sunday night without fail

COLLECTION 20

amandaglickman.myportfolio.com

Amanda Glickman

RISD Apparel Design

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Amanda Glickman

@amandaglickmanstudio

COLLECTION 20

COLLECTION 20

amandaglickman.myportfolio.com

Amanda Glickman

RISD Apparel Design

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Esmeralda Goncalves

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Esmeralda Goncalves

There are 7 billion people in the world and counting. A few hundred thousand will be doctors, lawyers, mothers, pianists, but only one person can be you. Pour yourself a glass of wine before conquering the world. Putting on a show while making history creating your own destiny in heels. Call it a curse but you were meant to show people what you’re made of. No one can do it better than you. No one can be more iconic.

Esmeralda Goncalves RISD Apparel Design

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COLLECTION 20 ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬Esmeralda Goncalves RISD Apparel Design 62

Defined by no limits, no time, no vice She’s her own story, lyrics, poem Her movement starts anthems, inspires artists, stops wars Not red but pink to shut off any bells A classic pearl, a touch of wine Bathed in confidence, conditioned in satin A dream you desperately desired Not an orchid or a traditional rose But a poppy, the start of addiction The start of watching her actions Her pearls, her curls, her scent She is the definition of power She is woman

COLLECTION 20

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Esmeralda Goncalves

RISD Apparel Design

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Esmeralda Goncalves

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COLLECTION 20

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Esmeralda Goncalves

RISD Apparel Design

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RISD Apparel Design

Zoe Grinfeld

@zoeigrinfeld

COLLECTION 20

COLLECTION 20 www.zoegrinfeld.com

Zoe Grinfeld

I navigate the space between past and present, inspired by a sense of nostalgia and reinterpreting memories of childhood.

I’m interested in the evolution of a life, in what makes people who they are, what makes me who I am. Material exploration is at the core of my process, and I approach materials with childlike curiosity, shedding any preconceived notion of a material or object’s intended purpose. I’m drawn to things that are absurd, ridiculous or surreal, yet enticing.

I want to change the way we look at things, reinterpreting objects into clothing through the use of digital printing and physical material manipulation. I look at objects not for what they are, but what they represent, and what they could be.

A collage of memory, a visual scrapbook, an autobiography.

Zoe Grinfeld RISD Apparel Design 67

COLLECTION 20 @zoeigrinfeld Zoe Grinfeld RISD Apparel Design 68

You remember so that you don’t forget, but the more you gain the more you lose.

You think you’ll always remember how you feel in this exact moment, but you won’t.

One foot in and one foot out of reality.

You collect things so that you don’t forget things.

A memory you don’t want to let slip away next to a memory you wish didn’t exist.

Why do we keep the things we keep and why is it so hard to let go?

You see the silhouette of a family.

Childish curiosity, teenage angst, adult dysfunction.

You feel the cringe of the past.

You smell the musk of a memory.

You long to know what could have been.

Ephemeral and yet perpetual.

Familiar and yet foreign.

When all you are is a collection of stories, how do you style your emotional baggage?

COLLECTION 20

www.zoegrinfeld.com

Zoe Grinfeld

RISD Apparel Design

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Zoe Grinfeld

@zoeigrinfeld

COLLECTION 20

COLLECTION 20

www.zoegrinfeld.com

Zoe Grinfeld

RISD Apparel Design

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Lucian Jessel

@lightbearer_studios

COLLECTION 20

COLLECTION 20 www.lightbearerstudios.com

Lucian Jessel

Lucian Jessel RISD Apparel Design

I stand for sensation, and the guilt-free indulgence in it. I stand for hedonism, for decadence, for appreciation of the finest things in life. Acknowledge your senses and explore them to the fullest. Let no beauty in life remain undiscovered.

I stand for love, for intimacy, for closeness.

For tenderness in brutality, for kindness in a hit.

For pain inflicted in the most loving way possible, stripping you down to a core of pure sensation and delight. Pain should not be feared, but rather embraced as a sensation that can reveal the truest part of your soul when inflicted with care and love.

It may be frightening, it may hurt, but at the end of the day, it is a reminder that you are alive in a beautiful world.

I stand for awareness of your place in the world, for acknowledgment of your standing among others, for care as to how your actions affect the people, creatures and world around you.

A portion of joy is the knowledge that others are happy as well — when those around you suffer, you cannot be happy either. One must acknowledge the difference between hurt and harm. Pain can be a pleasurable experience, but actual damage to someone is never okay, and cannot be consented to.

As you must take care to not harm your partners, you must take care to not needlessly harm those in the world around you. The Victorian era of careless hedonism is over. Now is the time to inspect what brings you pleasure. Where does it come from? How does it affect others? Who and what is harmed by the supply chain? Who benefits from it? Yes, capitalism is the antithesis of ethical consumption, but that doesn’t matter. You need not be perfect. All you must do is make an attempt.

Gather knowledge of where things are sourced, who is involved, what your alternative options are.

Use this era of connection and resources to your benefit. Find out what company owns what, learn who is responsible and who cuts corners.

Who sources from responsible small businesses?

Who cares more about profit and exploits their workers for it? Your options may be limited by outside factors, but that doesn’t prevent you from at least taking the responsibility of awareness. Ignorance may be bliss, but conditions can only improve with knowledge.

Perfection is not a human possibility, but effort is. Decadence is the search for the best of everything, and that extends to the supply chain.

With collab-orative effort, we can live in a world of beauty, intimacy and happiness. Life is meant to be lived to its fullest, and it’s through knowledge that we achieve that.

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COLLECTION 20 @lightbearer_studios Lucian Jessel RISD Apparel Design 74

Phase One: Anointing Warm, heavy, wrapping around the body like a hug.

Cloying, almost overwhelming—overpowering any other potential scents. Invoke fire, heat.

Make the body an (un)clean slate, prevent outside scents from interrupting the ritual. Like putting on body spray in lieu of a shower. Sensual, smoothed over the skin like a ritual balm or oil, a massage.

Phase Two: Ritual An abandoned church at midnight. Dirt tracked in from fresh graves. Wilted funeral sprays around the body, tied down with chains of leather.

Fucking on the altar, invoking life in a place where there was just death. Candles melting to a stub, incense smoldering and burning out. Knives tracing along tender skin, calling forth a blood sacrifice to a dark deity. Transmutation of the body, substances of the flesh to substances of the earth. Fresh sweat, the acrid tang of blood, bodily fluids transmuting to cold earth, dried bone and ash.

Phase Three: Aftermath Damp chests, pressed together, panting into each other’s arms. Cool rags wiping down, cleaning, closing the ritual. Inhaling the lingering scents on the sheets, of incense and love and sweat. Of bodily fluids, and a hint of the rose petals that had been scattered there. A burst of fresh berries, bringing back energy and vibrance.

COLLECTION 20

www.lightbearerstudios.com

Lucian Jessel

RISD Apparel Design

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Lucian Jessel

@lightbearer_studios

COLLECTION 20

COLLECTION 20

www.lightbearerstudios.com

Lucian Jessel

RISD Apparel Design

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Melissa Kennelly

@melk.apparel

COLLECTION 20

For the mannerless weirdos who like to wear skirts, who appreciate luxury.

I stand for femininity and the comfort it brings me, the tactile nature of “feminine� materials. I stand for everyone’s ability to feel feminine, and the spaces that allow that expression.

I stand for the strength that comes along with femininity, the thick skin of a feminine person and their bravery.

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I create to amplify and uplift others, especially those I love (this includes the self).

COLLECTION 20

I am for femmes and their confidence.

Melissa Kennelly

I believe in getting lost in the sensation of touch and the calming abilities fabric can have.

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COLLECTION 20 @melk.apparel Melissa Kennelly RISD Apparel Design 80

It smells musky but feminine, old but hip. It smells like how fresh sheets feel, like taking a bubble bath after swimming in the ocean all day, relief when you’re tired.

It evokes the feeling of being exactly where you’re supposed to be. It’s oaks and earl grey and lavender and raspberries.

She smells delicate and strong — she knows what she wants.

It’s the upturned soil and the rose bush. It’s timeless and comfortable.

COLLECTION 20

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Melissa Kennelly

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Melissa Kennelly

@melk.apparel

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Melissa Kennelly

RISD Apparel Design

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Andrew Kim

@akimnable

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COLLECTION 20 www.andrewkim.design

Andrew Kim

Exploration is key.

Material reaction allows for creativity.

Exciting application shifts paradigms.

Turn away from presumptions.

Image creation over production.

Rely on intuition.

Believe in intuition.

Appreciate and learn from beauty.

Pursue elegance.

Craft and beauty take time.

Convey labors of love.

I am just one person.

Collaboration opens up new worlds.

Let things be and be true.

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Andrew Kim

@akimnable

COLLECTION 20

Don’t slip or you’ll lose a leg!

Can you smell the trees letting out a deep sigh?

COLLECTION 20

A sweet taste in your nose tells you it’s okay to inch a little closer.

Brothers and sisters coerced to survive.

Meadowsweet, with an invitation of sweet baby bulbs.

Buried land mines, with a constant stress of caution.

www.andrewkim.design

Border is a contradiction of scents. A medley formulated to spike an elusive sense of disdainful familiarity. It is inspired by adaptive ecosystems and landscapes pushed by the politics and behavior of people. How do we work with Nature to create a more harmonious built environment?

Morning calm mist, with the serenity of a new day.

Inbreeding [Breeding?] animals, with an off-putting, familiar rawness.

Andrew Kim RISD Apparel Design 87

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Andrew Kim

@akimnable

COLLECTION 20

COLLECTION 20

www.andrewkim.design

Andrew Kim

RISD Apparel Design

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Allie Koltunov

@akoltu

COLLECTION 20

Uncomfort is wearing mostly conservative clothing but having one shamelessly slutty aspect to your outfit.

Uncomfort is about making serious work that can still make you laugh.

Uncomfort is living in the real world but embracing fantasy and getting caught up in it from time to time.

Uncomfort is about stopping and relishing for a moment when your heart beats a little faster when something makes you nervous.

Perfection is unnecessary.

akoltuno.myportfolio.com

Uncomfort is putting yourself out there.

COLLECTION 20

Uncomfort is about living by balancing two opposing ideals.

Allie Koltunov

Uncomfort is important.

Why strive for something unattainable?

It is OK to be unkempt.

Wear loose knickers with your fancy dress.

Work can be fun and should be fun.

Work can have joy and humor.

Allie Koltunov

Not everything has to be so serious.

RISD Apparel Design 91

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The smell is rich and flowery and it sticks in your nose like you have a tickle in your nose that won’t go away. Like there is one particle of dust stuck in your nostril that leaves you on the brink of a sneeze that you can’t get out.

The smell is like an old book left in a field of wildflowers until the two scents meld into one. You can barely smell it when you’re up close and the book is closed. When you open the book the scent is overwhelming and when it’s closed again a tickle is left in your nostril.

@akoltu

It is a very present whisper of a scent, annoying bug buzzing in your ear that won’t go away. It is ingrained in the threads of clothing and in the smell of your body.

The smell is musky and dirty and light and airy.

RISD Apparel Design

Allie Koltunov

It is a dust sneeze, it is an amalgamation of flowers.

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akoltuno.myportfolio.com

Allie Koltunov

RISD Apparel Design

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Allie Koltunov

@akoltu

COLLECTION 20

COLLECTION 20

akoltuno.myportfolio.com

Allie Koltunov

RISD Apparel Design

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Ashley (Xing Yun) Ma

@pinkdumpbling_

COLLECTION 20

COLLECTION 20 www.ashma.studio

Ashley (Xing Yun) Ma

Ashley (Xing Yun) Ma

I find beauty and preciousness within things that are organic.

I find beauty in things that are unexplainably effortless; beauty that speaks for itself.

I find beauty in balance; balance exists everywhere in our surrounding, in nature, and in the ecosystem.

Balance is important when it comes to design.

A red can go perfectly with a green if balanced well, and everyone’s definition of balance is different.

I find beauty in the slip dress that I often go to when I wake up late for class.

I find beauty and uniqueness in things that involve crafts and that are handmade.

I find beauty in things that involve movement and volume.

Not only is it crucial for a garment to look good when it is on a mannequin, but also it should drape and flow beautifully when one is walking.

I find beauty in tales.

I find beauty in accidents, the unpredictable.

I find beauty in emotion. Items that express feeling and a story. A feeling that is more than happiness.

I find beauty in crystals.

I find beauty in the energy of items.

I find beauty in melancholy.

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Ashley (Xing Yun) Ma

@pinkdumpbling_

COLLECTION 20

COLLECTION 20

www.ashma.studio

Ashley (Xing Yun) Ma

RISD Apparel Design

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COLLECTION 20 @pinkdumpbling_ Ashley (Xing Yun) Ma RISD Apparel Design 100

Mermaid Blood The scent is as needed as blood, it’s a life force. The concept of the scent is a blood bag that is customized for mermaids of different blood types to sustain their immortal souls while giving them freedom. After they use the perfume, they can live painlessly on land with their princes. The scent is supposed to have healing properties similar to rose quartz, the stone of heart and love; dissolving emotional wounds, fear and resentment. It also has a history of attracting new love. As a collector of crystals, I do believe in the energy of an object. If possible, I want rose quartz to be added to my perfume. To picture the scent in color, it would be red with a tint of teal blue with nude brown.

(Blue, the color of the ocean; Brown, the resemblance of land; and Red, the color of blood, life and love.) The color of the liquid could be red when it is first sprayed on and fade away on skin. If little mermaid sprayed human blood on herself to visit the land.

Top phase: her imagined scent of flowers on the land Middle phase: the image of home Bottom phase: mature

COLLECTION 20

www.ashma.studio

Ashley (Xing Yun) Ma

RISD Apparel Design

101

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RISD Apparel Design

Chloe Mario

@chloenoelm

COLLECTION 20

COLLECTION 20 www.chloemario.com

Chloe Mario

Through cultural and religious perspectives, I have been taught that there is a fine line between acceptable and unacceptable clothing through the concealing or showing of specific parts of the body. I ultimately want to challenge these notions in my collection by trying to create pieces that test the limitations of what is or isn’t revealing.

Referencing historical artwork, my appreciation for fine art stems from my relatives who have immigrated to this country from various parts of Europe. Their personal belongings have had a profound visual impact on me and motivate me to want to contribute to the future of traditional art.

Chloe Mario RISD Apparel Design 103

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Chloe Mario

@chloenoelm

COLLECTION 20

COLLECTION 20

www.chloemario.com

Chloe Mario

RISD Apparel Design

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COLLECTION 20 @chloenoelm Chloe Mario RISD Apparel Design 106

Waxiness the kind that doesn’t transfer onto your hands, but rather, one that coats, protects, encases something delicate

COLLECTION 20

www.chloemario.com

Chloe Mario

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Francesca Matarese

ΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩ

COLLECTION 20

COLLECTION 20 ΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩ

Francesca Matarese

I am for not giving up on myself I am for pushing myself forward through moments that are difficult I am for discovering who I am as a person I am for struggling to define what I stand for because it’s hard for me to be decisive I am for discovering who I am as a designer I am for continuing on a path that seems uncertain I am for making the best of the moments that come

Francesca Matarese RISD Apparel Design

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Francesca Matarese

ΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩ

COLLECTION 20

COLLECTION 20

ΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩ

Francesca Matarese

RISD Apparel Design

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COLLECTION 20 ΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩ Francesca Matarese RISD Apparel Design 112

I watched him as he sat in his undershirt at the corner of my bed. He slicked back his hair with one hand and lit a cigarette with the other.

The pillow of smoke broke the stale air that surrounded our bodies. His masculine, virile scent lingered on my skin. Plenty of girls would’ve left running. The bruises on his hands, the bloodstained shirts. Who was he when I wasn’t around? There was so much I didn’t know. He told me it was for the best.

I knew the kind of man he was; the flashy gold chains, his oozing sex appeal, the bitter taste of gunpowder that remained on my lips. His alluring presence was compelling. He had me charmed.

I was under his spell. The booze flowed and cigarettes were smoked. The burning smell of cocaine fueled the hunger for adrenaline in our dangerous lifestyle.

COLLECTION 20

ΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩ

Francesca Matarese

RISD Apparel Design

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Nathan Miller

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Nathan Miller

My collection addresses the ways in which clothes and adornment have shaped men and the ways in which we perceive them historically and contemporarily. The juxtaposition of traditional masculine shapes against bold prints and gaudy adornment create a parody of masculine power. Many of the shapes I’m exploring are based on 19th-century military and hunting silhouettes both for their ease of movement and ubiquitous authority. I want the comfort and fit of the garment to resonate as something recognizably authoritative while also highlighting the performative qualities of masculinity that aren’t always so apparent. While the silhouettes boast a sense of authority, the surface details celebrate the ostentatious and irreverent. The colors and surface treatments demand attention: the urgency of a mating call or a poorly tuned instrument.

There is something simultaneously artificial yet wholly organic, intrinsic yet entirely performative about the man and the garments.

Nathan Miller RISD Apparel Design 115

COLLECTION 20

It’s abrasive and recognizable yet layered and complex.

It’s white rum and menthol with hints of ginger and muddled tea.

It’s sharp until it eventually unfolds and you can appreciate the subtle notes that hide behind its austerity.

It’s the kind of discomfort that becomes addictive, like wasabi or high-proof liquor.

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It’s a peppery white cream that once lathered onto the face feels like hot water on ice.

The suggestion of a razor feels only natural.

Notes of lemon grass and neroli peek timidly from behind the edges of rum in round and full body waves.

It leaves the face cold and tight even when confronted with heat.

RISD Apparel Design

Nathan Miller

It’s a high-pitched whistle that funnels into something immediately cavernous and yawning.

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Echoes of fermentation barrels, white tiles and grass-stained fingers.

It commands a kind of earnestness that feels undeniably archaic yet callibered and precise.

COLLECTION 20

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Nathan Miller

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Nathan Miller

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COLLECTION 20

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Nathan Miller

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Maxime Mulder

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Maxime Mulder

Maxime Mulder

I first started this project with the intention of creating an open headspace for myself to work within. Starting my thesis without any parameters or guidelines has been incredibly liberating, and watching the process unfold naturally has revealed more of my true intentions and design ethos. There is nothing wrong with analyzing while designing.

Everything you make will reveal something about your inner self in one way or another, in the same way that the clothes on your body can be read whether or not there’s an intended statement being made. The seedlings of my initial working process were purely selfish in the sense that I was only creating things that I wanted to make: creating textiles that influence an idea for a garment; looking at color, texture and shape; building and developing textile; creating my own little puzzle pieces in search of the bigger picture. I held off on thinking of how I wanted my work to exist in the world and what human needs I was trying to fulfill. However, through this careful design process deeply rooted in material and tedious labor, I have found a new way of interpreting sustainability in a manner that is accessible to everyone. Striving for timeless beauty increases a garment’s longevity.

So far my collection has been a mix of knitwear and tailoring with a focus on materiality. I do a lot of machine knitting and I develop most of my ideas through textile exploration. I’ll usually start a project with a fabric swatch rather than a drawing or a mood board of reference images. Machine knitting has led me to adopt this making through doing approach where I’m less inclined to have an exact idea of what the final outcome will be.

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Maxime Mulder

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Maxime Mulder

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COLLECTION 20 ∑∑∑∑∑∑∑∑∑∑∑∑∑∑∑ Maxime Mulder RISD Apparel Design 124

Inspired by the early childhood memories of my grandparents’ house in Amsterdam and the actions of gifting and travel, my scent evokes feelings of home and luxury through the personal, precious and preserved. The scents are raw and natural and are emitted in an airy, light, smokey nature.

A concoction of their daily activities was constantly brewing and unfurling into the air of my grandparents’ house. The smell engulfed and welcomed everyone who entered this space and would then follow them out the door. My clothes and hair would always be stained with the lingering smells of eating, drinking, smoking and cooking after even the shortest of visits. The powdery floriental smells of warm, woody incense greets you upon entering, being the most identifiable and the easiest on the nose. The smell of coffee and jasmine tea would signify the early hours of the visit, where the family would sit around and exchange gifts that suddenly seemed to increase in value now that they had made it overseas. Tea, dark liquor, cigars and cigarettes — small luxuries that have become overlooked and taken for granted become treasured and unique. However, the love expressed with gift giving is incomparable to the love expressed with cooking. In this household the smell of cooked rice is warming to the core, starchy, toasty, a bit sweet, almost smelling like popcorn. Dinner is eaten in a fraction of the time it took to make, but the aroma of leftover rice is prevalent as it waits on the stove top for someone to dive in for seconds. As the last of the food is being picked at and polished off, the coffee makes a reappearance, now accompanied by dark liquor and possibly some sweets. The gourmand fragrances of coffee and cognac are snuggly and warm against the backdrop of Amsterdam’s cold, wet air.

Cigarettes are being lit one after the other. The loose tobacco smells sweet on its own, almost making up for the acrid, sharp smell of the burning leaves.

The smell becomes neutral and noticeable as I remain in this space. It’s not until I unpack my luggage upon returning home, where the aroma paints the indescribable feeling of comfort and family from miles and miles away. Only this smell can describe the Dutch word that has no direct English translation, gezellig, a word describing a feeling of comfort and warmth within places, experiences, people and family. It is a scent worth capturing and preserving, something so precious that it must be expressed and shared with others.

COLLECTION 20

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Maxime Mulder

RISD Apparel Design

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Isabelle Saxton

@isabelle.saxton

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Making clothing with fabric that has already been produced, which is just sitting on a shelf, not being used, significantly reduces the carbon footprint of the clothing, because making new fabric requires significant energy and labor. It devastates with a harmfully toxic and polluting output.

Isabelle Saxton

If I buy new fabric, it is organic, naturally dyed, non-toxic, biodegradable and supports farmers who are working with the planet. Wool is one of the most recyclable natural fibers available, lasting for generations. I avoid extremely thirsty organic fabrics like cotton, and I am entirely against lyocell and rayon since they destroy natural resources with harmful chemicals yet claim to be better alternatives to non-renewable synthetics, therefore greenwashing us.

www.isabellesaxton.com

I want you to reconfigure your beliefs to reduce the negative impact that throwing trash out has on the planet: love and repurpose it or avoid buying it in the first place.

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I believe in being reckless and caring, in eating glass to exfoliate your insides. I believe in not understanding, enlightening and hope. I believe in the future and our ability for greatness.

Isabelle Saxton

I believe in sustainability, but not the classic view of it being drab, vegan and holier-than-thou.

80% of all clothing goes to landfills or incinerators. Extend your product’s life cycle by using secondhand shops, scrap stores, clothing swaps and recycling centers to trade, dispose or newly purchase.

Why waste money on something that you are going to throw out, that is going to f*** up the planet and that is going to encourage companies to keep driving consumerism?

Spread the word, stand up for sustainability and stop being a #@!*.

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Buy less and care more.

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@isabelle.saxton

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www.isabellesaxton.com

Isabelle Saxton

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@isabelle.saxton

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One overall motion.

Extreme energetic warmth.

Love for someone familiar and others strange; I feel unbothered, Unrestricted, Fearless, Nothing to stop me.

Anticipation builds in my stomach and comes in my throat.

My chest fuzzes Absorbed by the incapability of standing still.

Where the fix lies.

It’s a mashup, of senses, feelings, materials and scents.

Isabelle Saxton

Undistracted, Raw emotion Blowing through me, I can’t breathe but it’s not a bad thing.

It’s just a feeling.

www.isabellesaxton.com

An enveloping hug, the beat.

Relaxed, encouraging the feeling of safety, security, protection and excitement.

I feel weightless.

I feel euphoric smiles, I feel no sense of time.

I feel connected to the ocean of life, waves moving differently but as one.

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Desiree Nicole Scarborough

@desireescarborough

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4 We employ all ages. Everyone has something to offer.

5 There is paid pregnancy leave, you can go home some days at 5, please bring your kid and dog to work, there is no dress code but please keep private parts covered completely, label your food in the fridge, please wear headphones, remember your training.

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3 We do not follow trends or mass produce and whenever possible we make it ourselves.

Desiree Nicole Scarborough

2 Wearable for all who dare. Meaning if you like it, you can wear it and you’ll be comfortable.

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1 Having representation at the forefront, this includes but is not limited to ethnicity, body proportions, gender and sexuality. Something I feel is important specifically in the Black community.

There is a deep amount of hatred and confusion along the lines of sexuality, colorism and a variety of other tropes. I believe there’s power in being a Black female identifying individual who outwardly and continually does not simply tolerate but empowers all year-round, not by just putting rainbows on T-shirts.

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Secondly, some truths as things currently stand: I have no idea what I’m doing and that’s okay.

Thirdly, I don’t know the first thing about running a business. I don’t know what I need and don’t need but I know how I feel. Ultimately, I would just like to make weird stuff and have people love it and buy it. But I made a list of seven values that felt important to have within a business:

Desiree Nicole Scarborough

First, some promises I want to keep to myself: I will outwardly express the love I have for myself and the color of my skin.

I will remain open.

I will ask, not assume.

I will have conversations with people, not about people.

I will continue to advocate for myself and others.

I will do better because I know better.

I will never claim to know everything about anything.

I will always be willing to learn.

I will trust the process.

I will give second chances to those deserving.

I will take breaks.

I will continue to care about the needs of others.

I will do everything that I have ever wanted to do.

I will remember that I have power, especially when I feel like I do not.

6 We take back our merch always, anytime, in any state. It can be remade into something new and sent back to you or make its way to someone new in a different form.

7 We keep our circle small and meaningful.

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Lastly, a little mind dump.

Being Black is tiring. It is dangerous. It is fantastic.

I believe there is an overall air of dismissal when it comes to the needs of people. I am continually frustrated with the lack of support communities of color receive, not just in NYC but around the world. From the Amazon, to Flint, Michigan, various mostly white political figureheads, people in positions of power in whatever regard and even middle-aged Amy down the street, seem to share a lack of compassion for areas containing people of color. They communicate this sentiment with their actions. The lack of financial, medical and natural resources can be found with a quick Google search. None of this is a secret, but nobody cares. Many of us have been living this way for decades, disregarded and stuck in poor neighborhoods on top of each other to die while our culture is turned to profit.

If you’ve heard these statements before, if this bores you, if you skimmed through this once you realized this was about Black and brown bodies and decided you know all of this and don’t need to read the same thing a different way, please cover up. Your privilege is showing. Remember this, “Whatever I’m not changing, I’m choosing.”

Continue to question yourself. Ask yourself: Why am I comfortable doing nothing? Why do I believe these issues do not concern me? What are my intentions when I sit on my privilege and keep the door slightly ajar so that only I can come in and out? This brand is a culmination of individuals who are committed to building a better world through art, activism and hard work. We want to create weird and wild things that live among the people. We ignore boundaries and defy stereotypes. We do different because we are different. It is not about making clothes and stuff that sits, it is about the people we share this earth with and taking care of one another. It is taking responsibility for the things we can change and making the decision to not just help ourselves. We are not just throwing money at the issues; we are committed to showing up physically to build the relationships and do the hard thing. We are the individuals who have been the only one in the room.

We are the people creating experiences that are accessible to anyone. We do not exist in an unattainable glamorous space. We will speak openly about the situations that concern us and our work will echo that.

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Desiree Nicole Scarborough

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COLLECTION 20 @desireescarborough Desiree Nicole Scarborough RISD Apparel Design

Late spring is my favorite season. A warm 75/80, sunny with a few clouds, 10% humidity, 0% chance of rain. Those were the best days to go to the park. Everything was dry, but the metal on the swings and slides wasn’t too hot. You could run through the sprinklers if you got too hot and catch a breeze.

When I stepped outside it smelled like spring. A light airy day with an undertone of nature. I could smell the trees and the leaves and the cherry blossoms at the end of the block. As we walked the wind picked up and the trees shook off leaves, twigs and seeds.

In the breeze I’d catch a whiff of my dad’s cologne for the day, maybe a Paco Rabanne, not the real thing, but an oil that smells just like it that he got from the African soap store downtown. As we reach the end of the block, we pass the cherry blossom tree. The wind makes the petals flap around haphazardly, then fall off easily whipping past my face, with a light almost strawberry smell, nothing cherry about it. We keep walking and the air is light and fresh. Things are still except for the occasional car that passes by.

Since it’s this early in the day and I’m not at school, it’s most likely a Saturday, around 12 or 1 pm because my dad works evenings.

So at this point I have about two or three hours to play. As we reach the park I hear the shrieks of children, splashing, the clang of the metal as children run across the bridge, the soft creaks of moving swings. We reach the park, one side of the gate is open, I run through, my dad takes the parental position on the benches. Usually he’ll bring a book or a CD player with his headphones, or he’ll work out off to the side, but he’s always watching me. I usually run straight for the swings. As I run I smell the rubber and asphalt under my feet, the hard candy that’s melted and stuck to it. Careful not to get it on my sneakers, probably Converse. Today’s mystery candy splatter smells like bubblegum with a hint of weed, because it has a smell it’s probably only a day old. I make note of the unfortunate fly that’s squirming to get out of the pink contraption. Unfortunately I can’t nudge it with my foot because, well, my sneakers.

But I also won’t touch it because this is a NYC playground floor.

So I continue on.

No kid sits on a swing, you jump on it. As I do I hear a sharp creak that makes me look up at the blue sky. I smell a bit of BO from the kid who’s been swinging on this before me, the seat is still kind of warm. I’ve never put my nose to a park swing seat but I imagine it smells like ass and rubber. As I pick up speed on the swing I’m catching a little bit of everything, the halal cart outside, the fart I just made, the slight stench of pee from the train station about 50 feet away. I hear the blaring Jamaican house music from a small Honda, the kid who just fell off the slide after his mom told him specially not to go down it like that is now crying because he fell and because his mom said they have to leave now “because you don’t listen.” The scraping of my feet on the rubber mat as I prepare to leave the swings for the monkey bars. I quickly stop so I don’t scuff them too much. The sound of the water from the sprinklers lightly hitting the pavement and the squeaky cart the homeless man is pushing.

“Des, time to head home. I’ve gotta take a nap before I get ready for work.”

The smell of cherry and rainbow ices from the ice cart, the sweat from the man selling cold water by the train station entrance, the dog poop someone left to the side thinking no one would notice, the acrylic paint from the woman painting in the grass and the Victoria’s Secret perfume of a middle schooler.

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Thomas Sheen

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2 Do everything by hand, even when using the computer. (whether it’s a buttonhole or flats, utilize your heart, mind and hand)

4 Consider the energy you bring into your work and the workplace. (not to say you cannot be negative, but it is more polite to channel it into a different avenue, like baking or exercise) 5 Be transparent. (with yourself, in conducting business, with the materials you select)

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3 There is confidence in knowing what you know and knowing what you don’t know. (this doesn’t mean ignorance is bliss; always make an effort to learn)

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1 When love is lost, beauty remains. (when you lack enthusiasm for life, nature remains beautiful, primordial and grand)

Thomas Sheen

A small list of things my mother taught me and ways to be:

6 Don’t take things personally. (boundaries are your best friend) 7 Pay your interns even when it cuts into profit. (it will feel better)

9 The journey is long; health comes first and foremost. (if you cannot stand on two feet, neither can the work)

Thomas Sheen

8 Sometimes love is letting go, sometimes it is holding on. (whether it be an idea, a piece of clothing you love, or someone you know)

10 Decide to play someone’s game or live your own life. (as much as it feels people would quite like it if you died trying, your priority is always health) 11 You have to be soft to be strong. (kill them with kindness) RISD Apparel Design

12 The pursuit is to uncover everything we cannot see, to try everything to feel something. (often we do and create things to bring change, to bring back a memory or feeling)

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Mood Progressions A moment of freshness, peppery umami, sweetmeat, nautical dusk, absolute calm

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Blue not known for pleasure like the deep blue sea full of conflict, full of pain.

Blue, the brightest part of a flame Ephemeral bouquet of dreams, an absolute calm.

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A truffle pig romps across the coast in its wake, sea berries pour into the water, disrupting its slumber.

Traversing the countryside of carrots and figs mischievous bumpkin boy and his golden retriever stand at the shore young, dumb, full of come.

A devil peeks from below the surface.

He wants to show you more.

A moment of freshness grabs hold and the boy is cast into the briny water.

Below the blue, a sea of blue flames, the rush and then the calm.

A moment of freshness emerging on the other side, spitting salty bubbles.

The silhouette of trees are paper-cut against the backdrop of nautical dawn.

Traversing the countryside of wing fruit and yuzu trees.

Mischievous bumpkin boy and his devil stand at the door.

He wants to show you more.

Is this what the blue pig meant?

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Thomas Sheen

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Olivia Shen

@shenyyolivia

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COLLECTION 20 www.shenolivia.com Olivia Shen RISD Apparel Design

Family first. ◊ Be yourself and be true to yourself. No bullshit. ◊ In the words of the 2015 live-action adaptation of Cinderella: Have courage and be kind. ◊ Fortune favors the bold. What you are afraid of is probably what you should do. ◊ Find what makes you happy. It is okay to be sad, angry, frustrated, etc., but learn how to turn beauty out of them. ◊ Drink more water.

Hot water. Solves pretty much everything. ◊ Put heart and soul into your work. Don’t make clothes for the sake of making clothes. Open yourself up through fabric and clothing. ◊ Buy good clothes, make good clothes. Do not buy and make clothes that make the wearer (you) feel uncomfortable. Pay special attention to interiors: the inside should be just as beautiful as the outside, like people. ◊ Work hard and work smart. But don’t overwork yourself, you’ll just get burnt out. ◊ Don’t contribute to the toxicity of fashion. Find ways to change it. ◊ Be an advocate for every woman. Prioritize inclusivity and radiate body positivity. ◊ Pop culture and media has taught society that quieter, vulnerable girls with little opinions are more desirable.

Prove them wrong. ◊ Bring out the beauty in others. Redefine beautiful. ◊ You are the proud owner of your own body. Don’t let others control what you do with it. Admire it more. ◊ Don’t let mom dictate what you wear, especially at home. Wear what you want. Let her get pissed off. ◊ Eat good food more, especially when you’re at home. ◊ Cook more good food, but it’s okay to mess up — you’re only learning. Don’t follow recipes so closely, you measure that shit with your heart. Learn more things to cook from mom (and aunties). ◊ Do good for the Earth. Be kind to animals and appreciate nature more. ◊ Be as eco-friendly and kind to the Earth as possible. Find where sustainability and your vision for your work meet. ◊ Stretch and breathe. Exercise more. ◊ Teach others more about the diversity of your cultural heritage. Break stereotypes about China and Chinese people.

Make Asian Americans feel more seen. ◊ Speak more Chinese.

Aim to pick up Shanghainese. ◊ Fix problems when they emerge, especially between friends. Don’t avoid them and let tension build. ◊ Take more pictures (of friends, family, things you love). ◊ 用心一点. Be more detail-oriented and mindful. ◊ Rice is the real and true grain. ◊ Red lipstick forever. (I’ve been wearing lighter, pinker lipsticks recently.) ◊ Admire yourself more both with and without makeup on. ◊ You don’t always have to present your best self. ◊ Keep your feet and tummy and head warm. ◊ Be loving.

Olivia Shen

OLIVIA’S GUIDE TO LIFE & WORK *written in the second person to myself* *will continue to change over time

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I am as American as I am Chinese* (inspired by David Chang’s Netflix series Ugly Delicious, in which he calls Chinese food as American as apple pie and turkey) *written in “chinglish” because some things just don’t sound right in English I am as soft plain bagels with just a little bit of cream cheese, buttered toast from sliced bread held together with a twist tie, burnt bread crumbs on sunlit chipped yellow painted wooden chairs, Costco pack of giant muffins in three flavors, cold orange juice in a mug, mom’s tomato minestrone soup, middle school spaghetti, and her baking craze apple and pumpkin pies as I am 豆沙包, 叉烧包, 咸蛋粥, 妈妈晚上煮的豆浆, 酒酿圆子 with an egg for breakfast and in porcelain soup spoons for dessert post-dinner in restaurants with relatives, dad unhinging his jaw to bite down on 大饼 wrapped 油条, the green of vegetables and 葱 on the cutting board mixing with tap water, some of those veggies tossed on the floor “accidentally” for Lily to eat, 酱油, 麻油, 醋, smashed and diced garlic, salmon, beef, or pork marinated in metal bowls, mom 炒ing 菜 with hot oil and humidity being sucked in by the vent, 大砂锅 filled with “yi du xi” soup centered on the table, 妹妹盛ed的 steaming rice in four equally sized bowls but unequal amounts specific to each of us, 桂花 sprinkled on 五花肉 and 酒酿圆子.

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Olivia Shen

I am as mom teaching me how to roll out pie crust across a tin as I am mom maneuvering my elementary school hands to show how to properly fold a 馄炖.

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I am as freshly mowed grass by my dad in a white shirt and gym shorts on a midsummer 傍晚, gentle yellow sunshine grazing 妈妈种的花, her dirtied, sweat and sun infused cotton blouse after digging around soil and repotting tulips, the blue-green rippling pond in Heritage Park where ducks swim, the intense afternoon sun beating down on the concrete sidewalks of our cul-de-sac as I race my neighbors and sister on bikes with training wheels, the swinging and slamming of our rusty screen door under the pink and orange setting sun as mom yells “吃饭啦” and we run back inside as I am taking pictures of peach blossoms in the park across the river, lightly smoggy air dancing through 梧桐树 lining and covering the one-way streets downtown, 散步ing in two circles around our apartment complex with my dad, my sister and my dog on a warm and humid summer evening an hour after dinner, the indulgent intensity of 梅雨季节 heavy gray rain midday, the gentle warm fragrance of 桂花 blooming against the cool autumn air right downstairs our apartment.

I am as dad pushing the backs of our bicycles down concrete sidewalks on a sunny spring afternoon as I am dad jokingly complaining at how much taller I am than him as we jog past parked cars and street lamps in densely humid midsummer night air.

I am as the clean and warm machine-dried laundry on our leather couch left in a pile for my sister and I to fold, the smell of my mom and dad’s heads on their pillows toasted by rays of sun seeping in from the branches of our pear tree, the stench of tinfoil-wrapped home-cooked Chinese food made by 阿姨s sinking into carpeting, mom and dad’s powdery and pink bathroom where my mom sat me down and put on my makeup for dance recitals, the red-brown wooden floors of our living room my sister and I would 乱跳舞, the black grand piano that sat on dirtied white carpeting that dad splurged on in hopes that we would become some kind of piano maestros, my girly bedroom with pink floral wallpaper and my mom’s paintings of her favorite Disney characters, and my tiny twin-sized bed and dresser dad and his friends built that overflowed with stuffed animals as I am the

www.shenolivia.com Olivia Shen RISD Apparel Design

Chinese translation key: 豆沙包 — red bean bun 叉烧包 — Char Siu bun 咸蛋粥 — Porridge with salted preserved egg 妈妈晚上煮的豆浆 — the soybean milk my mom brewed overnight 酒酿圆子 — glutinous rice balls in fermented rice wine, a popular Shanghainese dessert 大饼 — big pan bread 油条 — Chinese fried dough sticks 葱 — onion (scallions in this case) 酱油 — soy sauce 麻油 — sesame oil 醋 — vinegar 炒ing 菜 — cooking (general umbrella term) 大砂锅 — big ceramic pot 妹妹 — little sister 盛ed的饭 — the rice that was served 桂花 — osmanthus flower, kind of jasmine 五花肉 — pork belly 馄炖 — wontons, Shanghainese way of calling them. 傍晚 — the evening time before sunset, around dinner 妈妈种的花 — the flowers mom planted 吃饭啦­ — “Dinner time!” 梧桐树 — Chinese parasol tree; the bark looks like camouflage patterns that peel off 散步ing — strolling 梅雨季节 — plum rain season, heavy rains that transition spring into summer, summer into autumn 阿姨s — aunties (the moms of family friends) 乱跳舞 — random fun dancing 大闸蟹 — hairy crab, freshwater 我们的脚可以揿血位 — our feet can press on pressure points (Chinese medicine thing) 拖鞋s — slippers 妈妈摘的桂花洒在 coffee table 上 — the osmanthus flowers mom picked scattered on the coffee table.

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panelled staircase spiraling up our apartment that Lily can’t climb, and sliding and shutting kitchen doors to keep the smell of cooking food in (especially when mom dad and I eat 大闸蟹, because Isy’s allergic), the rattan carpet in our living room that mom bought so 我们的脚可以揿血位 and that Lily pees on all the time, the old leathery couches and dusty cupboards mixed with the summer night breeze coming through the screen windows in my grandpa’s apartment, 拖鞋s shuffling across wooden floors, every person with a distinct footstep sound, hanging washed wet clothes on racks on our balcony for them to be dried by the wind and sun, 妈妈摘的桂花洒在 coffee table 上.

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@shenyyolivia

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Samantha Tate

@samanthantate

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3 The most important part was getting there.

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It is so incredibly easy to slide into the pattern of getting lost in the process. I believe the development stage is the time when you are your most creative. For instance, the ideas of some of my best paintings came out of the process in which I was making fabric jewelry. I love to just get to work, it becomes selfless and simple. I prefer to channel all of my energy into the development process because I want my voice to come through the work itself.

Growing up as an artist, I learned to treat the process with as much significance, if not more than the final product.

Linking this methodology to my fashion collection, suddenly I found myself creating garments just to take them apart into new pieces. I started making knitted shapes that determined a silhouette instead of drawing this out first.

I made a yellow babydoll dress and had each of my models try it on in order to inform the rest of the design process on that dress. Instead of finding the right fabric to perform my 3D ideas, I manipulated the fabrics that I already had to transform into new materials. I love being a fashion designer, however following the grind of sketching to picking the final fabric to producing is too narrow for me.

I wanted to treat this process in the same way I create my paintings or sculptures. As a result, I wasn’t producing something that I can easily define, I found that I was creating garments I never thought of before.

Samantha Tate

The collection I made is just that, a collection. I took the time in the past year to accumulate a vast recycled materials library in order to branch away from unfriendly habits to the environment. Throughout the process I have been collecting the scraps and imbedding them back into the work to follow zero waste methods. These techniques allowed for my garments to be rich in detail, include diverse textures, and be unidentifiable to their manufactured history.

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2 Fine art through fashion is treating the materials with respect.

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I personally love to treat gender identity as a form of art.

Art is often and sometimes inevitably introspective.

You design the kind of person you are today based on past experiences and certain individuals in your life can serve as inspiration. I think anyone can be feminine. I would say the way I feel feminine is a response to all the women in my life.

I love to work in fashion because it is a perfect vehicle for expressing your personal identity to others in a way that is relatable. Just the idea that I can enjoy making something to be then worn by someone and become embedded by their own personal expression is meaningful for me. This is why fashion, with the dynamic collaboration and engagement, has a strong sense of longevity. I want to make fashion that creates new conversations and new definitions of beauty in the way that art does. Meaningful art for me is driven from a lot of different directions while breaking the rules. Fashion can be done in the same way.

Samantha Tate

1 Art is the individual, and Fashion is the group.

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4 I don’t create fashion for the mannequin, I want to create for you.

During the process of developing this collection I discovered an interesting element that drove my designs. After being stuck on the silhouette of the first dress (the yellow babydoll dress) I decided to drop my original methods of coming up with ideas and started creating a personalized outfit for my model. All of a sudden I was customizing my fashion to the actual wearer, I took inspiration from her personality, aura, and overall visual features. I believe it is important to make this idea of customized fashion more accessible. I think we need to support the individual even in androgynous fashion. I am sick of boring, minimalist clothing for androgynous wearers. Where’s the energy in that? Androgynous fashion does not have to lack gender expression.

5 Fashion needs to slow down.

I am a maximalist, in art and in fashion. I am not here to make something that is easily digestible or familiar. I want to invite the viewer to take time to fully look at my work.

I don’t think art needs to be served easily and fast like everything else in our society to today. Take your time, smell the flowers and get lost in the garden.

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Samantha Tate

@samanthantate

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I had a dream once about colored glass bottles They were strewn about the small patch of grass in front of the house It was the smell of the uncut weeds That had shined back at me from the bright glass

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Like the Daffodils

But my favorite spot was Lily of the lawn behind the stone wall As we sat in our grass stains, Two different colored and patterned socks I became just mesmerized by the yellow of the dandelions when your eyes Became immersed in the pattern on the rug

Pink! Sharpies too ripe for a garden meadow Zinnias from last summer polka dotting the yard Peeling crayons and the soft rubber of Playdough Weird but sweet and propagated, like the bits of sculpey

Samantha Tate

The blue comes from fun pastels in the cold This is chalk pooling rain in the driveway The best part was when we got to hide in the big pink plastic pig Flowers, stripes and red and green dinosaur shoes We used to have daffodils, Forget me knots were my mom’s favorite The sound of a peculiar Hours and hours pulling gimp Giggling under a clean quilt smushed between flower and page

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Back then we had collected small erasers It was always the little things that built up in the ceiling like the lady bugs The marigolds and sunflower bits

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Isabelle Y. Xing

@_xy_is

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Isabelle Y. Xing

Isabelle Y. Xing RISD Apparel Design

A question that was always in consideration at the beginning, during the process, and near the end of a project is how willingly will an individual choose to pick up these garments and put them on their bodies to prance around in the real world. All aspects of design and construction of the garments are considered in both the pointof-view of the designer and the wearer. As the designer, the conceptual and physical qualities of the garments are valued wholeheartedly; the craftsmanship determines how successfully a garment is made. As the wearer, the durability of these garments is taken into consideration.

An important aspect of ethical and sustainable practices that enforce passion in apparel design is the long-lastingness of a garment. A successful piece of work can be determined by the wearer’s willingness and desire to come back to a garment and choose to wear it again.

The utmost important aspect of apparel design and what the designer stands for, is how functional, practical, and efficient the overall designs are — functional as in there is a reason that each aspect of the garment is designed in the way it is; practical as in there is no struggle to move around in the garment; efficient as in the garment is easy for the wearer to put on and take off. Hence, rather than viewing apparel pieces as displayed art that need to be handled with extreme carefulness on the body, more so consider them as items that one can hold dear to their heart by being both physically and emotionally comfortable while wearing. Especially in the case of the thesis collection, the main goal is to create a collection of garments that can guide the wearers to improve posture and to have a better quality of life by relieving bodily stress.

The ensemble of garments needs to stand on its own and become not just a group of objects that are used to cover or decorate the body, but also to be of help and be utilized for a specific reason in daily life. They are unique and one-of-a-kind; fitted to a certain body and will only take effect on the intended body.

Furthermore, a dark color palette is chosen for this collection. Colors such as black, grey, and similar shades appear repeatedly in the designs.

As a frequent receiver of vibrant-colored advertisement, this is a chance to communicate the message of wanting to allow darker colors to become just as beautiful, elegant and “vibrant” as any other colors through the expression of silhouette and fabric manipulation. Colors that usually fade into the background will now be in the foremost line of sight.

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COLLECTION 20 @_xy_is Isabelle Y. Xing RISD Apparel Design 158

A smell that generates through movement.

Through action.

Initial Encounter A phenomenon in which the initial encounter is forceful, irritating. A sense of immediacy.

A sudden stress provoked by being restrained.

Such as the intenseness when a bottle of rubbing alcohol is spilled.

An odor that is overwhelming. Cold. Piercing.

A sharp impale through the senses.

A sudden drop of temperature. A chill appears when it comes in contact with the warm skin.

A slight discomfort to the touch and smell.

Synchronization A period of adjustment.

The initial sharp odor has now diffused into a steady redolence.

The meditative fusion between the natural musk of bodily odor and the sterile, industrial and metallic scent of stainless steel.

Deep and dark on one hand. Clean, light and indifferent on the other.

The juxtaposition of organic and artificial.

Delicate and rigid.

It may be the scent of perspiration accompanied by an acidic, citrus note.

A little sweet mixed with sour.

Aftertaste The peak is short-lived.

Leaving a mild lingering tone. Quiet, obscured, undefined, but detectable.

The willingness to conform to the restrictions; to seek the benefits.

The underlying raw, mean scent of rust triggers a memory of usage.

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Differentiate what you can’t do and what you are unable to do.

Always ask the question “why did they say that?” And “why did I say that?”

The intentions that words reveal are more important than words themselves.

Reflect but never regret.

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Do whatever you have to do. And know later that you had to do what you did.

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Always keep trying, even on the bad days.

If a little bit is all you are able to do for today, do it anyway and know you’ve tried your best.

Violet Zhou

Focus on getting through today. If that is too hard, focus on getting through this hour; if that is too hard, focus on getting through this minute; if that is too hard, focus on getting through this second.

When you find yourself wanting to run away, it is probably time for you to stay and face the situation.

You may lie to others but never lie to yourself.

Everything comes to an end, and there is (almost) always a way out.

Embrace your emotions even when they paralyze you. For they will not dissipate until you decide to acknowledge their validity. Feel the emotions, take them in, even if, especially if, you instinctively want to make them disappear. But do not hold them in — or they will certainly implode.

Try to remember as much as you can, even the things that you don’t want to remember.

For at the end of the day, memories are all there’s left, all that we’ve got.

RISD Apparel Design

Do not hope for anyone to be your savior.

The best anyone can offer you is company and partial sympathy.

Violet Zhou

Inspirations rarely show up on their own.

Work to find them!

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COLLECTION 20 @thevioletz Violet Zhou RISD Apparel Design 164

It’s a slight crack on the wall, small pieces of broken glass lying on the table.

It’s a blade that ran on a piece of white paper; it’s the slash that’s left behind.

It is so light and subtle you barely register its presence.

It’s meditative and serene, but there is something more pungent lingering underneath.

It is complicated and conflicting but in the lightest and most exquisite way.

You suspect that you are smelling flesh and blood, but is that what it really is?

The smell soon vanishes, and so do your suspicions.

Could it really be something this grotesque, in a moment so peaceful? It’s the chilling air in the mid fall. It’s a sense of melancholy, a sheer layer of sorrow; it’s a sinking thought in the back of your mind; it’s struggle, but it’s also somewhat a hope.

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This book was designed and typeset by Cem Eskinazi MFA 17 GD in Providence, Rhode Island.

Production team includes Jordan Gushwa, Danielle Mancuso, Simone Solondz & Jay Davani of RISD Media.

Studio photography by Max Luger, The Content Campus.

@risd1877

Crit photography by Bao Nguyen.

Typeset with Rapport designed by June Shin MFA 17 GD in 2020 and distributed through Occupant Fonts; Ray [working title] designed by Cem Eskinazi in 2020, unpublished through Occupant Fonts.

This book is printed on Mohawk Renewal paper series.

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Credits / Colophon

Cover is printed on Mohawk Renewal, Straw, 379 gsm; made using 30% straw processed in Eastern Washington.

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Text block is printed on Mohawk Renewal, Recycle Cotton, Rough, T-Shirt White, 118 gsm; made from t-shirt and denim scraps diverted from textile waste sent to landfills. Recycled t-shirts are made into cotton pulp in Franklin, Ohio.

Printed using HP Indigo 12000 Digital Press

by Kirkwood in Wilmington, Massachusetts.

Bound by Superior Bindery in Braintree, Massachusetts.

SENIOR FACULTY 2019–20 Catherine Andreozzi Mary Kawenski Lisa Z. Morgan STAFF Elaine Hetu Thomas Szilagyi CRITICS In addition to the support and direction provided by RISD instructors, seniors benefit further from interactions with visiting critics.

Laurie Brewer Associate Curator Costumes & Textiles RISD Museum of Art William Exaros Group Director of Visual Merchandising, Chanel Mona Kawalska Designer, A Détacher Reuben Reuel Designer, DEMESTIK AWARDS + SCHOLARSHIPS Thanks to the generosity of donors, the Apparel Design department will award scholarships to sophomores and juniors who are excelling at RISD. We are extremely grateful to the dedicated supporters who make our scholarship program possible.

The Bridal Council Award Helen Byram Scholarship Josephine & Bernard Chaus Scholarship Raul L. Lovett Scholarship Rebecca Mellman Henry Memorial Scholarship Joseph Piselli Memorial Scholarship Mary Bowen Polk Scholarship Louise A. Shuster Memorial Scholarship Esper A. Shwaery ’23 Memorial Scholarship Textron Fellowship

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