Fashion Design MFA Graduate Showcase

Showing 49 results
GREEDY DIRTIE BISEXUAL

GREEDY DIRTIE BISEXUAL

Kaylie Haueisen
  • 2023
  • Fashion Design (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Fashion shows
  • Fashion photographs
  • Masters theses
As a creative designer who is drawn to caustic and audacious subject matter, Haueisen’s work utilizes off-kilter elements, namely deconstruction of traditional patterns and garments, to distort the body in pleasing ways. She deeply enjoys reworking and upcycling existing traditional garments and accessories to create innovative shapes that compliment the body’s natural form and cause the viewer to question toxic views of femininity and masculinity that are pervasive in society.
The Urban Diver

The Urban Diver

Yitong Liu
  • 2023
  • Fashion Design (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Fashion shows
  • Fashion photographs
  • Masters theses
Yitong Liu is a ready-to-wear fashion designer whose style is inspired by her passions for athletics, nature, and social causes. With a professional background in free diving, she brings a deep appreciation of precision to her fashion work, whether in designs, craftsmanship, cuts, or performance-driven textiles that she applies to traditional suiting. Ultimately, Liu's goal is to create garments that not only functionally express a new take on active living but also capture the emotional implications of the times within which we live.
Arise

Arise

Deborah Won
  • 2023
  • Fashion Design (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Fashion shows
  • Fashion photographs
  • Masters theses
Deborah Won is an award-winning designer who creates work that is influenced by sensory play. By utilizing innovation-driven techniques and materials, she makes concept-forward clothes that promote interaction in personal and shared space. Influenced by movement, technology, and feminine paradigms, her work is a cross section of classical forms with progressive design details that blur the line between past and future. Converse, Opening Ceremony, and Sandy Liang are among the brands she has worked for in her materials and women’s wear design career.
The Song of Samsara

The Song of Samsara

Catherine Ziyue Tang
  • 2023
  • Fashion Design (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Fashion shows
  • Fashion photographs
  • Masters theses
Catherine Tang is a New York–based women’s wear designer whose work deals with sustainable fashion and wabi-sabi style using bold patterns. Born in China and raised by a mother from the Dong minority, much of her inspiration is rooted in the Dong cultural heritage and traditional craft. Her work aims to fuse these traditions with modern ready-to-wear by exploring how sustainable practices and forward patternmaking can combine with folk craft.
Regina

Regina

Anthony Oyer
  • 2023
  • Fashion Design (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Fashion shows
  • Fashion photographs
  • Masters theses
Inspired by two worlds—fantasy and history—Anthony Oyer merges past with present through silhouettes taken from historical references and fantastical stories. His is a viewpoint formed while growing up in a small Midwestern town, watching old films and exploring antique stores. Oyer’s deepest desire is to make his wearer smile. His muse is one who wears their finest to the grocery store and diamonds while taking a bath. His universe is a place where more is always welcomed.
Unbound: Fashion Design MFA Showcase

Unbound: Fashion Design MFA Showcase

  • 2022-06-08
  • Fashion Design (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Runway collections
  • Fashion shows
  • Thesis
The graduating class of the MFA Fashion Design program presented their final pieces in a runway show on Wednesday, June 8 at 3 pm in the Katie Murphy Amphitheatre.
Sentiment Dilemma

Sentiment Dilemma

Zhendong (Samson) Jiang
  • 2022
  • Fashion Design (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Runway collections
  • Fashion shows
  • Thesis
Forty years after deconstruction shocked the world, the coronavirus pandemic, ethnic barriers, and wars tore us apart. People are getting confused, as if the impulse is still in their heart but cannot find the direction. Such a "Sentiment Dilemma" unintentionally reveals reconstruction. It has the same form as deconstruction but in the opposite direction. Not to show the rifts, but to hide and heal. By adding wrinkles, folds, and silk organza, the boundaries of the deconstructed clothes are blurred and a state of coexistence is created. Hidden in the folds of jackets and dresses to indicate a process of reconstruction, fabric flowers bloom and try to heal the broken garments and soften the rough structures.
Implicit Beauty in Eastern Culture

Implicit Beauty in Eastern Culture

Yunjiao (Ciea) Mao
  • 2022
  • Fashion Design (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Runway collections
  • Fashion shows
  • Fashion photographs
  • Thesis
"I cannot say that my dreams and reality are entirely separate. They are intertwined. Dreams are a kind of subconscious. They reflect our subconscious cognition of things during the daytime. Scenes of our dreams may also appear in our real lives as a kind of prediction. With the passage of time, this dreamland seems to become a part of my memory. As more time passes, I sometimes can't tell if something that happened was a dream or something that I actually experienced."
¿Dusk /Dawn?

¿Dusk /Dawn?

Yuning Gong
  • 2022
  • Fashion Design (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Runway collections
  • Fashion shows
  • Thesis
Mimicking the trajectory of tragic hero stories, I decided to write a tale with garments to document my six-year journey in fashion. Recognizing the comical absurdity of this journey, ¿Dusk /Dawn? aims to celebrate both virtues and flaws within, and to make peace with such conflict for growth and development. This collection is highly personal and plays a crucial role in her transformation from a student to a designer.
For Her

For Her

Yu-Hsuan (Stephanie) Chen
  • 2022
  • Fashion Design (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Runway collections
  • Fashion shows
  • Fashion photographs
  • Thesis
As designers, we often ask ourselves: Who is your muse? Who is the woman you are designing for? My answer to that question would be "Soft and delicate on the outside. On the inside, she holds passion, and is strong and untouchable. A sophisticated warrior." This collection introduces my definition of women that are seen as soft, gentle, but there is a strength to her personality. I reflect my personal observation onto clothing and fashion – finding a balance in the looks, and generating the idea of harmony in technique, fabrication, soft tailoring and draping around the female form.
Gallop

Gallop

Xiaolin (Kristen) Wu
  • 2022
  • Fashion Design (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Runway collections
  • Fashion shows
  • Fashion photographs
  • Thesis
Kristen Wu's graduate collection explores the fusion between Western and Eastern equestrian culture. In her two years of researching and creating functional and innovative fashion, Kristen draws on her understanding of practical details and explores the evolution of equestrian clothing through time using past, present, and future silhouettes and techniques. She consistently tries to remove and simplify traditional trims, fabrics and shapes without losing the Western and Eastern equestrian elements. Always collecting and absorbing new research to combine with unique functional concepts, her design process creates infinite possibilities for the development of modern womenswear.
彝Yi

彝Yi

Wenwen Lei
  • 2022
  • Fashion Design (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Runway collections
  • Fashion shows
  • Fashion photographs
  • Thesis
​​With my collection name 彝Yi, I chose to combine Chinese and English characters, which echoes my design idea of combining Eastern elements with Western silhouettes. I was inspired by the mountains, birds, and animals in my hometown, and I fused the technique of Chinese ink painting to depict nature in my garments.In this graduation collection, I show five kinds of intangible cultural heritage crafts: handmade wool tassels, handmade pleating, silver bubble embroidery, patchwork embroidery and lingering embroidery. I created this collection with the intention of giving new blood to millennia-old civilizations by using modern and futuristic silhouettes to bring forward the old craftsmanship.
Sapiomatica

Sapiomatica

Stephanie Kim
  • 2022
  • Fashion Design (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Runway collections
  • Fashion shows
  • Fashion photographs
  • Thesis
Stephanie Kim's graduate collection "Sapiomatica" is based on the fictional story of a young heroine living in a distant dystopian future. The heroine's life is closely intertwined with machines. She lives amongst toxic waste in an unforgiving industrial landscape. The garments of this collection contain industrial pipes sewn into the seams. Acid-treated radio frequency shielding fabrics, rubber and plastic form the basis of many pieces in the collection. The film that accompanies the collection explores the heroine's escape from her factory job as she emancipates herself from the inhumane servitude on the factory floor and runs towards freedom.
The Freedom of Confinement

The Freedom of Confinement

Shumeng Zhang
  • 2022
  • Fashion Design (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Runway collections
  • Fashion shows
  • Fashion photographs
  • Thesis
This collection represents our experience with clothes as the second skin and the contrast between masculinity and femininity. It is inspired by Martha Graham's "Lamentation" and the New York dance floor. The collection combines menswear and womenswear elements in a distorted way, by mixing ruffles and bold colors with tailored jackets, shirts, and menswear fabrics. It aims to question gender stereotypes. With stretchable fabrics, the wearer's body is restricted but is still free to move, showing the conflict that a dressed body faces.
Their Crystal Palace

Their Crystal Palace

Shine He Sang
  • 2022
  • Fashion Design (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Runway collections
  • Fashion shows
  • Fashion photographs
  • Thesis
In some areas, especially Asia, gender rates at birth could hit 300 boys for every 100 girls illustrating the most severe situation of baby girl gendercide. The collection reveals systematic gender inequality in multiple aspects ranging from basic birth and living rights to societal engagement and to self-realization rights. To present these issues, the looks focus on computer-aided silhouette design and patternmaking as well as colorful fabric prints that are developed from hand painting. Hand pleats and beads are used to add textural sensation to the collection, while 3D color printed hardware brings in more depth of detail. The collection is realized with special thanks to sponsors Mimaki and Swarovski.
The Allegory of Femme

The Allegory of Femme

Sean Patrick
  • 2022
  • Fashion Design (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Runway collections
  • Fashion shows
  • Fashion photographs
  • Thesis
Marie-Louise O'Murphy was a young, Irish mistress who lived in the palace of Versailles. Far from her humble Irish beginnings, she lived in the center of femininity and luxury during the Rococo era. The Allegory of Femme depicts O'Murphy's story as a metaphor for Sean Patrick's own journey as a young man who grew up in an Irish household with feminine, dramatic taste. Once believing that the conservative traditions of Ireland had no place in the glamorous aesthetics he was interested in, The Allegory of Femme sees these contrasting influences intertwine to create a beautiful and sensual display of Gaelic art.
THE OBSERVER

THE OBSERVER

Sarah Maazouz
  • 2022
  • Fashion Design (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Runway collections
  • Fashion shows
  • Fashion photographs
  • Thesis
"THE OBSERVER" serves as a reflection of the value of physical presence within modern culture. Garments are constructed as extensions of the body where physical form is used to disrupt patterns of routine interaction and provoke an "awakening" of the wearer. The collection materializes light and color phenomenon through lace, pleating techniques, and diffraction gratings; ultimately expanding the presence of the physical body's boundary into the environment in which it exists. At what point do we stop blindly existing? Or is this a reality we accept?
Sweet Tooth

Sweet Tooth

Mengyao (Marie) Lin
  • 2022
  • Fashion Design (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Runway collections
  • Fashion shows
  • Fashion photographs
  • Thesis
This collection is inspired by desserts and sweets. I wanted to find a theme that I enjoyed and that would make people feel joyful. The things around us often impact our emotions. In a depressing and stressful time, dessert is the food that brings happiness and delight to people. My color palette is inspired by the color combinations of candy wrappers and desserts. I use pastel and bright colors and uncommon materials like PVC to make beautiful and unique handcrafted designs. I hope the bright colors and surprising textures make people feel positive and upbeat in disappointing times.
Her Story

Her Story

Matthew Okerayi
  • 2022
  • Fashion Design (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Runway collections
  • Fashion shows
  • Thesis
Matthew Okerayi's collection leverages fashion to express his personal interests for uniforms, art, culture, and politics in this collection. In embodying the delicate balance between political critique and history, his work takes risks. The back being one of the focal elements of each look because it is the body's greatest canvas. He also reflects on the strong women figures in his lifetime, striving to tell their story of their internalized efforts. Uniform, I believe, binds us; this is my counter-argument which is a privilege to be able to present.
Homeland is Just a Memory

Homeland is Just a Memory

Johanna Luisa Orlowski
  • 2022
  • Fashion Design (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Runway collections
  • Fashion shows
  • Fashion photographs
  • Thesis
Johanna's designs are rooted in a sustainable approach, which is the most prominent and recurring element of her work. With sustainability as the leading compass of her creations, she also plays with the notion of being an immigrant. She finds inspiration in the past to create very personal and unique pieces by using discarded fabrics and garments that she transforms into new unisex pieces of clothing. Layering is a technique she often incorporates and interprets in a variety of ways. In this collection the pieces are interchangeable. There are no set outfits or rules on how to wear them.
cloth: square: white

cloth: square: white

He (Irene) Zhu
  • 2022
  • Fashion Design (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Runway collections
  • Fashion shows
  • Fashion photographs
  • Thesis
Chinese designer He Zhu's philosophy is that "Fashion is a form of fine art." Her collection "cloth: square: white" is a way to experiment with clothing as an extension of the spiritual body. The collection projects the ancient East Asian view of the body into contemporary fashion through light & shadow and geometry. The designs feature white squares in different variations and combinations that change the silhouette on the body, with an aim to create a sustainable lifestyle - a unity between man and universe.
The (h)yoomen bädē

The (h)yoomen bädē

Diala Dabbous and Rena Baydoun
  • 2022
  • Fashion Design (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Runway collections
  • Fashion shows
  • Fashion photography
  • Thesis
The body, the physical structure that forms a human being, the structure that the fashion designer in me admires. The body is my inspiration, from the inside to the outside. It should be considered along with its movement, its imperfections and its existence. As a focus of my practice, I contemplate the body. I went on a journey of investigating the human form, looking at different ways of perception and coming up with my own. I studied classic anatomy, the dissection of a body and its kinetics. I admire the fit of clothes on a certain figure. I've always questioned how clothes can comfortably sit on the body, move with it and garnish it, giving it its utmost capabilities and enhancing them without necessarily restricting the physique.
Reflection

Reflection

Bethany Plymale
  • 2022
  • Fashion Design (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Runway collections
  • Fashion shows
  • Fashion photographs
  • Thesis
"Reflection" is the study of mother-daughter generations, the dynamic relationship between mother and daughter and how it affects fashion. From a young age my mother projected her tainted idea of beauty and insecurities onto my sister and me, in an effort to protect us from the patriarchy lies of what women should be. Inevitably my sister and I felt subjected to the male gaze, sexualized, and developed unrealistic expectations of daily dressing. Through my thesis, I dissect my mother, our relationship, and the insecurities of dress and body that were formed – breaking the cycle of generational shame with me.
Terra Incognita

Terra Incognita

Ana Jablinski
  • 2022
  • Fashion Design (School of Graduate Studies)
  • Runway collections
  • Fashion shows
  • Fashion photographs
  • Thesis
Inspired by Margaret Mee's and Carl Friedrich von Martius' respective journeys to the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil, Ana Jablinski imagined discovering an old, abandoned greenhouse hidden in the middle of the rainforest today. This fantasy awoke Ana's nostalgia for her home country's diverse flora and unique architecture. Terra Incognita is a collection that highlights Brazilian craftsmanship and sustainability in fashion through classic and contemporary silhouettes.