‘When you allow something to be the majority of your life it represents you. It is a raw form of self-expression.’ New York is full of some of fashion’s finest designers and the prestigious design school Parsons delivers some of the freshest and talented of graduates. Lauren Cooper looks at the voodoo inspired thesis collection of Alessandra Rivera. Growing up around clothing design, Alessandra Rivera has never had any doubt that she wanted to be a fashion designer, ‘Fashion was going to be an important part of my life, if not the majority of it, and that’s how I’ve always wanted it to be…being a fashion designer genuinely makes me happy and that’s the bottom line,’ she says. Brought up in a small artistic town in Pennsylvania, Parsons has provided Alessandra with many opportunities that are unattainable anywhere else and has given her an unbeatable ethic to life and work. ‘School in the city has been about being adult and a professional with a sleep when you die attitude towards reaching goals and finishing projects…We are given freedom to create limitless possibilities. The only limit is our how far we are willing to go to reach our full potential.’ With a long list of work experience within the industry ranging from music video and short film costuming to press release altering and styling at Lanvin, as well as interning at Viktor & Rolf, Martin Margiela, Marc Jacobs Menswear, her CV is nothing short of amazing. Alessandra’s passion for her trade is immediately evident, not only because of the alluring concept of her collection, but also the tone in which she discusses it. Inspired by African witchcraft and New Orleans-based voodoo, she used an array of prints, textures and material which lead to ‘a high spirited collection for confident women who really love having fun with what they wear. This collection was meant to be fun, young, and sophisticated,’ as well as being versatile, which is an imperative feature of any collection. Comprised of six looks each put together with painstaking attention to detail, the collection is full of natural and earthy tones, structured garments, and showstopping accessories. It is clear to anyone that sees Alessandra’s collection that she is a rare talent and one can think of no reason why she will not soon accomplish her goal of working closely with Alber Elbaz, her idol, whom she believes she could learn a lot from. ‘I am intrigued by his ability to seamlessly blend youth, femininity, and fun with such sophistication. He has such a phenomenal sense of proportion and an eye for detail that women everywhere love. I have the utmost admiration for that man. I could learn a lot from him and would love to apprentice with the Paris design team.’ along with in the future having her own collection. Her thesis illustrates raw talent, conciseness as well as, importantly innovation showing that she will go far.
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out in the moonlight Showcasing her simple and elegant designs, Shinhye Suk tells a story of a unique woman through her classic yet contemporary designs; she talks to John Bowyer about her thesis collection. Her woman appears as an apparition. Descending moonlit stairs in an outside garden, the faint sounds of a lawn party murmur in the background. Independent and elegant her outfit stands out from the crowd yet feels at home in the formal setting. This is the image that formed in the minds of those viewing the thesis collection of South Korean designer Shinhye Suk. Deceptively simple to look at, yet demonstrating skilled craftsmanship to those who got close, Suk’s A/W pieces alluded to a classic vision of women. The powerful juxtaposition of a strong woman combined with a softer, more fragile, femininity. Whilst picturing this woman, someone who, in Suk’s own words is ‘graceful and independent,’ it is hard not to imagine the actress Delphine Seyrig in the film Last Year in Marienbad. The dreamy evening scenes with her in merged beautifully with the impression of Suk’s customer. ‘Her style is very strong. I want my customer to feel special in my clothes.’ After interning in the fur department of Oscar De La Renta, Shinhye applied the skills she learnt there to precise effect in the statement piece of the collection: a hand-dyed fox fur vest. Creating the eye-catching stripe design was a technical process of cutting and stitching, ‘First I sliced the furs to about a quarter inch each. I then stitched chiffon between the furs at one inch intervals which gave it the striped effect.’ The addition of chiffon between the furs created a wearability not often found in fur garments, ‘although my collection is A/W, I wanted the vest to be light and comfortable to wear,’ says Suk. Focusing on the use of wool throughout the collection – which included wool jersey, suiting and cashmere- Suk wanted to develop ideas she had applied earlier in her studies, ‘I won the junior year competition with A/W pieces. For this reason I decided to do another A/W based collection as I felt I had the best experience behind me to create it.’ On her choice to focus on wool Suk felt it’s classic characteristics accentuated her designs best, ‘I like the classic feminine. Wool is very soft. It fits to my style.’ An aspect that was hard to overlook that ran throughout the collection was the extensive use of hand dying, exhibited to great effect on an oversized turtleneck jumper, and on the hand-knitted sleeves of a simple cashmere top. ‘Hand dying the sleeves took about 2 weeks,’ Suk states, ‘each stage of the dying process took 3 hours and needed several attempts to get the grading right.’ This attention to detail runs throughout Suk’s collection, evidenced further with dyed hook and eye fastenings, hand-stitched hems and luxurious silk linings. At only 25 Suk is already producing clothing that will remain timeless and her understanding of drapery and cut is undisputed. With luck, her creations will grace the sort of woman we all imagined during her presentation: strong yet graceful, existing in a realm of possibility.