House, Fashion, and the Pursuit of ______ 2021 - SAIC Fashion Exhibition

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Nicky Lace (Objects/Artifacts/No Nonsense)

Fashion 2021 Dear Students, Faculty, and Friends of the Fashion Department, Welcome to the Fashion 2021 virtual festival celebrating the achievements of all our students and classes in the fashion department!

In the summer of 2020 we were three months into the uncertainty of the pandemic, facing a staggering and undiscriminating loss of life and no clear roadmap through it.

The pause put on full view the entrenched disparities in our society that disadvantages our fellow citizens because of their color, gender, or origin. How did we get to this place? What could be a different experience of ourselves in the world? The disruption to the old normal is unparalleled. Yet paired with an innate desire for rebalancing, it presents a tremendous creative opportunity to clarify one’s pursuit. As much of the world closed down, it opened up in different and unexpected ways: from our homes we were able to have class and studio visits with virtual visiting artists, we connected globally. And this shift to flexible teaching also allowed us to keep connected with students through our classes, who could not physically return to Chicago!

Yichen Zhang (3D Embellishment)

It has been an extraordinary academic year; one, which we will share with you the way we shared much this past year: virtually. May 14, 2021, marks the launch of a new department website which gives each student their own showcase. On this day we also premiere a suite of fashion films created by the graduating senior class of 2021. We are delighted to toast the awardees, and celebrate all our students, for their amazing pursuits through creativity, innovation, and resilience.

Nick Anthony Dalessandro (Shape and Theory in Garments)

Footwear photography by James Sommerfeldt

Ra Dehan (Advanced Footwear Design)

Swar Sahgall (Advanced Footwear Design)

Todd Miguel Barrera-Disler (Advanced Footwear Design)

These experiences and stories are shared on the new website that our faculty member and colleague extraordinaire Michelle Kim has developed and implemented. Please visit, browse, and see the remarkable diversity of expression, and work, as we navigate new approaches into the future. You’ll find bold explorations bursting of creative agency across the courses and pathways the department offers. A special highlight each year is the work of our accomplished senior fashion design class, guided by Abigail Glaum-Lathbury and Rey Pador. They have made this moment theirs. With remarkable bounce they created the worlds they want to see through their fabulous collections.

And as one door closes, another opens­—they decided to produce fashion films to take their fashion stories out into the world. These series of fashion films will premiere here tonight.

The year has upended our routines, interactions, and how we do things, including teaching and learning. I want to salute my cherished colleagues: fellow faculty and staff, not only for the skills they bring into their teaching, and also for their commitment to their students and adaptability to reinvent how they teach. Thank you to the Gene Siskel Film Center virtual team, the Exhibitions and Exhibition Studies team, the web development team, SAIC’s CRIT, IRFM, and media centers, the FVNMA department, our colleagues at OA, and especially Bob Faust for this ingenious publication design. And I want to express my most heartfelt thank you for our Fashion Council, and Heiji Choy Black, its chair, for their unwavering dedication in support of the Fashion Design department and its students through this uncharted territory.

Katrin Schnabl Sage Foundation Chair

SAIC Fashion

Undergraduate Curriculum The Department of Fashion Design offers a rich variety of courses taught by faculty engaged across wide-ranging specializations. Collectively these fashion electives make up the Body-Builder courses focusing on pushing boundaries and challenging understandings of bodies and body forms.

Students study with innovative practitioners to push their conceptual thinking and nurture technical skills. Each course explores unique processes, techniques, forms, and concepts as well as cutting-edge new technologies. Courses in illustration, accessories, knitwear, embellishment, or performance-oriented design can be taken as electives or aligned into a personal pathway sequence where students shape their individual visions.

Courses can be taken in a scaffolded sequence from the sophomore to the senior year. Technical instruction provides a firm foundation in draping, patternmaking, and garment construction and is paired with drawing and conceptual design courses to develop research and design strategies.

These classes are offered independently in the fall term, and joined in the spring as co-taught intensive courses where students work to integrate design principles with technical making to realize their fashion collection development.

The open structure of these courses allows for a self-directed sequence of topical, and project-based courses supporting both traditional and non-traditional fashion practices.

Through these broad explorations, students are invited to examine the boundaries of fashion and clothing as it relates to identity, lifestyle, performance, display, costume, and art.

Nicky Lace (Objects/Artifacts/No Nonsense)

Clockwise from top left Victoria Bi (Sophomore Fashion Construction & Design), Photography by Feifei Wang Nicky Lace (Supply and Surplus: The Art of Making Things) Zoe Zhou (Introduction to Fashion, Body, and Garment) Nick Anthony Dalessandro (Footwear Design)

Anh-Khoi Hoang Le (3D Embellishment)

Lorea Román

Bimbo on the Job Whereas excessive interest in one’s appearance has traditionally been considered the proof positive of vanity and emptyheadedness, modern women are interested in controlling their inside as well as their outside. By their ostentatious appearance they encourage each other to be as vain and extravagant as they desire to be. A bimbo on the job subverts the patriarchy by reclaiming femininity and embracing their hotness. A bimbo on the job takes the male gaze that has been unavoidable since birth and creates a caricature of it by performing vanity and cluelessness. It’s about creating a persona that makes men uncomfortable by pairing stereotypically feminine visuals with jarring messaging. By becoming everything men want visually whilst also being everything they hate, such as being sexually empowered, a bimbo on the job reverses the fetishization of femininity, turning the male gaze back on itself. A bimbo on the job rejects the idea that women must have it all, it is about self pleasure and love and everything that gets in the way is simply not worth it.

Model: Delar Gaston / Select Models Photographer: The OX Project

Model: Ella Flood, Photographer: Henry Boeschenstein

ARTIST STATEMENT

Lorea Román is an up-and-coming designer originally from Spain. She is currently a senior BFA candidate with emphasis in Fashion Design. She focuses on quality materials and nicely fitted garments. Her work researches and explores the power of the female body from different perspectives.

——— I would like to thank my mother for being my biggest support during these past four years and always.

I would also like to thank Rey and Abigail for everything they have taught me but also for being so supporting and patient during this very challenging year.

Caterina DeRousse

No Pictures!!!!!!!!!!!!

How many egos can you fit into a 10-bedroom mansion?

For my senior thesis collection, NO PICTURES!!!!!!!!!, I explore the vicious effects of the cult of celebrity, both on the object/ person worshipped and the worshipper. My process began with obsessively pouring through the monographs of infamous paparazzi Ron Galella, Bruno Mouron, and Pascal Rostain.

Their endless bodies of works contain rich snapshots of celebrity life. From black-tie gala events, to leisurely beachside vacations, the featured celebrities are relentlessly stalked.

I became entranced by this parasitic relationship. Celebrities clad in comically large sunglasses, allowed little to no privacy, mythologized beyond their control. If your entire self belongs to the public, what are you left with?

Models: Helen Hua-Zhang Gu (left), Iyomi Ho Ken (right) Photographer: The OX Project

Model: Ray Madrigal Photographer: The OX Project

ARTIST STATEMENT

Big Head, Permeable Membranes Model: Nic Holmberg

Model: Helen Hua-Zhang Gu Photographer: The OX Project

Giving each other new shape, color, and identity, clothes and the bodies that wear them are constantly informing one another. To what extent can this be manipulated? In my work, I play with the limits of the symbiotic relationship between body and garment. I respond to, expand on, and in some places completely overwrite the body of my model, sculpting my own humanesque forms from fluorescent pink fleece and upholstery foam. Earthly proportions are irrelevant as I twist every limb to the point of absurdity. Hulking hands twice the size of a head. A right arm wrapping around the entirety of a torso. When the body of the wearer is distorted past recognition, what is left of the wearer’s identity? The absurdity of my garments gives the wearer the opportunity to become a caricature of themself, relieving them of the burden of the everyday. Their very identity becomes spectacle. They shed their humanity at the door to become living, breathing jokes, giving them the opportunity to admire their reflection and laugh at themselves and their new form.

——— The biggest thank you to the superstars who made this collection possible: my friends, my roommates, my parents, and The Scary Jokes! I love you all so much!

Bora Kim

The Invisible Seasons Invisible Seasons follows the journey of the blinded soul.

Through the passing of each season, one leaves behind the blindness of the past to shine visibility to oneself and to the rest of humanity.

Models: Birdy / Select Models (left), Natasha De Leon / Select Models (right) Photographer: Amy Limpinyakul (Film still)

Model: Birdy / Select Models Photographer: The OX Project

ARTIST STATEMENT

Bora Kim seeks to paint broad landscapes through garments in the search for deeper truths. Combining text from classical literature and images from contemporary and historical art, Kim combines texts and images to design wearable garments with meaning. Rooted in foundational patternmaking that is both wearable and spiritual, Kim explores how internal experiences can be visually interpreted to help the collective lead a more enriched life.

——— I would like to thank my parents for all the encouragement and support during my studies at SAIC. Shout out to Michelle, John, Audrey, and Alex for cheering me on and always making me laugh. Thank you to all the hardworking senior fashion students.

I learned a lot from you guys and grateful for the friendships made over the years. Finally, thank you Rey, Abigail, Pam, Annie, and Bambi for all your patience and support. I was able to grow artistically and as a person through your guidance. Thank you!

Models: Birdy / Select Models (left), Natasha De Leon / Select Models (right) Photographer: Amy Limpinyakul (Film still)

Av Marie Grannan

Sublime Remains I have created a hyperreality with roadkill. As a society, we are more disconnected from nature than ever. In place of our intrinsic need to connect to nature, we are becoming more dependent on distortions of reality like virtual games and the unreal existence like Disneyland. Fantasies have come to constitute reality. With this collection, I am presenting a fake symbiotic relationship with perished animals and humans.

This new relationship connects individuals back to the sublime of nature and the environment.

Leather has been upcycled from various places to give it new life. Similar to roadkill, I find leather couches on the street that are set to be thrown away. I harvest the leather, and just like taxidermy, I adorn the skin to come alive once again.

The garments become the playground for these new creatures to lay.

Model: Michela Colgnese Photographer: Av Grannan

Model: Tori Tracey / Select Models Photographer: The OX Project

ARTIST STATEMENT

Av Grannan is an interdisciplinary artist who works with creating wearable functional art. She believes that making people feel creative while they wear a piece of clothing or accessory brings more worth to everyday items. The garments come to life differently on each individual. Grannan primarily works with sustainable or up-cycled leather, canvas, fabrics, and natural fibers. As she creates work for each collection, she thinks about the history of the raw materials. Whether that be using a couch from the side of the road or old army wear, the materials’ journey builds the work she creates. Combining these different materials with other objects that she has taken apart helps the pieces come to life. For instance, taking apart old baby dolls, then using their eyes and parts for new work. Grannan’s wearable artwork has layers of different stories built up and sewn together, making a new narrative that becomes unusual and unique.

———

Model: Julia Sells Photographer: Av Grannan

Photographer: Av Grannan

I want to thank my parents for their full support in following my path in the arts—especially my mom, Brenda, for being my number one cheerleader throughout this fantastic and stressful time. I would also like to thank my Sullivan peeps for keeping me alive and happy, even though this year was mainly virtual. Big thanks to my roommate Michela. Also, huge thanks to Abigail and Rey. They are the most incredible teachers I have had at SAIC, and I’m going to miss our check-in zoom calls to make sure I still had my sanity. Just relax! Going to miss my fashion family.

Dawson O'Keefe

Ken’s Dream House Ken’s Dream House explores how our bodies interact with the spaces we occupy through the lens of dolls and dollhouses as an “imaginary” form mimicking an idealized version of our world. I have taken inspiration from the history of dollhouse design, from the architecture to the interior furniture and drapery. Researching the history of miniature room construction, such as fold-out houses, I developed a highly constructed look within each garment echoing architectural lines through seams and protruding structural forms. I utilize modern interior designs, bold shapes, and playfulness, stripping all ornamentation to focus primarily on form. These abstracted, structural forms in this collection serve as the actual object they are referring to, but in a way that is unrecognizable in comparison to its reference. By ascribing reality to abstract objects, I hope to rupture our conceived notions of what objects are and how we ascribe reality to them.

Furthering the plastic notion of things, I create a parallel between the body in the garments to the body of a doll in order to question the reality of the human life versus the reality of a doll’s life. This is shown by revealing parts of the human body that are occupying the garment and concealing other parts of the body in tight stretch materials to create the illusion of the perfect plastic skin of a doll. By doing so I was able to highlight parts of the male physique and create my own form of an idealized body much like the way a doll is its own representation of the ideal human form.

Model: Parish / Select Models Photographer: The OX Project

ARTIST STATEMENT

My work plays with architecture and form as a means of occupying space around the body. Rather than wearable garments, these forms function as experimental garments or body sculptures presented as installations or in editorial photography. The clean lines and protruding forms emphasize the architectural aspects of my work while a playfulness in texture allows the human body to be animated in motion. I prioritize clean patterns and perfect fit to achieve my silhouettes using both traditional and non-traditional techniques to build large and often abstract silhouettes.

With the comparison between architecture and body, I believe that it is possible to manipulate the viewers perception of space and to view the things around them in a more abstract way that still reflects what we are all already familiar with. I portray this process throughout each body of work no matter the subject I am working with. For example in my collection Ken’s Dream House I made the comparison of human bodies to the body of a doll, as well as the human body in relation to a dollhouse, which changes the perspective of the viewer on the actual spaces that they occupy in relation to the world around them.

——— I have to start by thanking my Mom because without her none of this would have been possible, always providing me with everything I would need to make what I am doing a success with no questions or hesitation. Also a huge thank you to Rey and Abigail for providing me with the ability to make whatever I want and for being there to help make my visions a reality, for fostering a healthy work environment that allowed me to figure out exactly what I want to do with fashion and helping me reach those goals. Thank you all, much love!

Model: Zolt Photographer: Andrea Florens

Eliana Batsakis

The Weathering Wham! Pow! Zap! The sky opens up without warning. The women of The Weathering are on the loose once more! Their airborne destruction unleashed on those below. Heatwaves, pelting snow, thunderous storms, and lightning bolts! Oh my! Why are women only included in history when they are “misbehaving” or “causing a storm”? The Weathering unites women with destructive elements of weather to empower and celebrate the history of feminism.

Often seen as violent and out of control, feminists have long been viewed as their own special “storm.” Embracing this idea, The Weathering represents a new wave of feminism through the strikingly similar tropes of feminism and severe weather. The Weathering brings attention to the questions of invisibility of women throughout history in hopes to inspire a new “storm” in the next generation of feminists.

Models from top left clockwise to bottom left, all Select Models: Birdy, Alyssa Craig, Anya Ball, Janel Carrington, Brenda Halter, Natalie Bryant, Eleanor Simon, Natasha De Leon Photographer: The OX Project

Model: Iyomi Ho Ken Photographer: Abby Teodori

ARTIST STATEMENT

Often told she “laughs at everything,” Eliana Batsakis brings joy and humor into each of her collections. Through voluminous and colorful garments, Batsakis hopes to create other realms in which her viewer can enter and exit with ease. Her work is characterized by the use of imaginative narratives, manipulated textures, bright color palettes, and bold silhouettes inspired by real stories. Batsakis does not design for one particular body. Instead, she enjoys thinking of garments themselves as “bodies” with the ability to transport the wearer to other realms of existing. Using fashion as a catalyst to activate other worlds through wearing.

——— Eliana would like to thank her family, her man, and her fashion fam for their constant support and guidance. She would also like to give the biggest hug of thanks to Caroline for encouraging her to join the fashion department. In addition, a shout-out to Rey and Absy for their guiding light and support in every challenge faced this year, as well as many laughs and moments of pure joy along the way. She would also like to thank the 7th floor vending machine for keeping her alive, even at the darkest hour.

Faviola Anaya Esquivel

fantasy The older I got the more I unveiled the curtain that had been shielding my innocence for so long. The older I got the more I realized how corrupt this world was; and how it wasn’t built for people like me. It’s flawed, broken, and ripping at the seams.

The more I exist in this reality, the more I wanted to escape from it. I wanted to go back to my innocence, my ignorance, my childhood. Where I sat on my carpeted basement floor and would watch Disney movies, hours on end. I wanted to sit in front of my big, old, static television; and be transported back, to wonderland. Where Cinderella gets her prince charming.

Where the underdog always wins, where kids never grow up, where a pegasus flies in the sky. And where everybody lives happily. Ever. After. I wanted to escape, and that’s what I’ve done. I’ve utilized my television as a lens into my fantasy world; where I watch a three-dimensional world, on a two dimensional plane, caught between the plastic screen. As I sit and watch, the screen glitches, distorting it’s world. But all I can do is sit and watch, because it’s just a fantasy; an escapism of my reality.

Model: Carito Ceballos Photographer: The OX Project

ARTIST STATEMENT

Faviola is a Chicanx artist, who was born and raised in Chicago.

Commuting from her childhood home to the SAIC studios every day of her college career. She’s a very multidisciplinary artist in the way she integrates her sculpture and fibers practice into her fashion design work. She brings her garments to life through utilizing lots of colors, textures, prints, and materials which she does herself by screen printing, tufting, beading, and her newest love, quilting. As most artists do, Faviola utilizes her work to amplify her thoughts and ideas, which usually revolve around themes of her Mexican American identity, childhood, and nostalgia. While developing these concepts she tries to be as resourceful and environmentally friendly as she can, by repurposing old blankets, bed sheets, and discarded fabrics that she finds in her childhood home. Faviola is currently on her way to building her own brand called favilinda, one of various nicknames her mother gave her as a child.

——— I just wanted to say an endless thank you to both my teachers Rey and Abigail, they really have fought tooth and nail to help us execute our vision. They are amazing teachers and mentors, and I was so grateful to have them this year. I also wanted to give an extensive thank you to the people that had donated money to my GoFundMe at the end of last year, it truly meant so much and helped me to buy materials I needed for making my collection.

I also wanted to thank my amazing models, Nico, Chlo, Carito, and Crystal, who were able to bring my work to life. Last but not least, I wanted to thank my amazing family, for just being there when I needed them most.

Frida Paola Benitez

Un Viaje a Través de Colores y Formas Eight outfits... Six friends... and a dance party in Pilsen! This is my journey from Chicago to Mexico City, and how I found freedom through the entanglement of both places. This collection is my family, the colors in Mexico City, our varying skin tones, and the histories we’re creating through our shared experiences. The usage of screen printing and layered fabrics symbolizes the clash between my Mexican and American heritage. In time they’re able to coexist, forming the community and identity I find safety in. These outfits were draped and made specifically for each of my friends, using colors and textures that reminded me of their personalities. I’ve been in a constant search for a community I truly belong in for as long as I can remember. This collection made me realize that I can create it through my clothing, it’s something I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

Model: Franka Huanchicay Photographer: The OX Project

ARTIST STATEMENT

My work focuses on reconstructing history through my garments, using my Mexican background as inspiration. I was born and raised in Chicago, while my parents are from Mexico City. I’m a fashion and fibers artist, through my colorful garments and dynamic prints, I hope to create a sense of comfort and community. I often felt restricted by clothing growing up and decided to change that once I became a fashion designer. The work I create is centered around curating a safe space for any wearer, they’re genderless and free.

——— This is for Mexico City, and for all my friends and family who have supported me throughout this entire journey. I’m especially grateful for my sister who stayed up many late nights with me in the studio, my father for helping me customize the accessories, my mother for thrifting supplies, and for Ashe, Graham, Leslie, Franka, and Rory, the beautiful models who brought my garments to life! I love you all!! Also a special thank you to Baby, Nicky, Isa, and Quill… they’re my guardian angels.

Top photo, left to right: Ashe Elaine, Graham Webster, Rory Hayes Bottom photo, left to right: Leslie Andrade, Graham Webster, Rory Hayes Photographer: Frida Paola Benitez/The OX Project

Gianna Dorothy Gaspar

Welcome to the Tea Party The stressed business woman, overly affectionate kindergarten teacher, geeky book worm, and mischievous wild child gather at the table for afternoon tea. Together they enjoy bite-size treats, hot English Breakfast with sugar cubes and cream, and colorful banter. Tea time allows them to escape reality and enjoy a comforting atmosphere layered with soothing music, fun floral patterns, and LOTS of doilies.

The business women has the hardest time escaping her demanding work life and her constantly buzzing phone, so the wild child decides to help her “relax a bit.” With the book worm’s help, the wild child slyly slips some gin into the business woman’s tea. Thanks to the book worm’s chatter about her latest read, and the kindergarten teacher’s ability to shed both happy and sad tears as they reminisce, the business woman hardly notices anything has happened to her tea at all. When tea time is over, everyone leaves with even more memories and feelings of excitement for the next time they are able to return.

Models: Brenda Halter / Select Models (front), Demi Thomsen / Select Models (back) Photographer: The OX Project

ARTIST STATEMENT

This specific collection is based on important female figures in my life and explores the portrayal of story through costume. Looking at my own personal archive of objects and photographs, I developed a story about four women who enjoy afternoon tea. This was my way to make such a personal collection more accessible to the viewer, while still basing the story on my own life. My mom, Aunti, and cousin Marisa heavily inform three of the characters seen in this collection. I was also able to inject myself into the story through the character known as the “Wild Child.” All the fond memories I have of going to tea with these three women are meant to be portrayed in this goofy, fun-loving story.

Models: Brenda Halter / Select Models (photo left) Models from left to right all Select models (Film still right): Janel Carrington, Anna Stratton, Demi Thomsen, Brenda Halter, Christine Vi Photographers: The Ox Project (left photo)Amy Limpinyakul (right film still)

——— First, a huge thank you goes to my mom and dad! They continue encouraging me to pursue my passions and support me in every way possible. My appreciation cannot even be put into words.

Love you! Shoutout to my family and friends who have been a constant source of inspiration, I would not be who I am today without you. Lastly, thank you to all of the professors I have had the pleasure of working with at SAIC, especially Rey, Abigail, and Bambi. You all have taken so much time to teach me and allow me to grow. I am so incredibly thankful! Much love!

Grant Karpin

Awakening I want to amplify that gender fluidity is sacred. Since the birth of ancient civilizilation, non-binary individuals have been celebrated and praised for harnessing divine power. These ethereal, gender non-conforming members of a community were visible throughout cultures across the globe. Eventually, shattered through the brutal destruction of Western colonization, gender fluidity was violently erased while the binary became entrenched. I believe that this painfully stolen history deserves a resurgence. Stronger, bolder, and more impactful than before. With my senior collection, Awakening, I embrace the grey space between and beyond our perceived ideals of the masculine and feminine form. Alien-like silhouettes and hyper-mechanical detailing reflect the internal confusion, then transformation that stems from feeling “othered” by society. Old scars, the remnants of having been labeled a “freak” or a “monster” morph into a heightened confidence beyond human ability.

An emphasis on blurring delicate and rigid materials are incorporated to subvert the firm duality seen on opposing ends of the gender binary. Primordial defense mechanisms spawned in nature, such as thorns, merge with porous, skin-tight mesh blending feelings of harsh protection and vulnerable release. Lapis blue, a color extremely rare to find in nature, wraps around the celestial forces I envision. Human bone structures are amplified and stretched with stuffed wool roving to show a shift towards the unexpected to come.

Welded hardware pieces are seen growing beneath tight knits and flowy chiffons to embody the intensity beneath the outer layer we present.

There is an unparalleled magic that comes with living beyond the ordinary; a deeply ingrained power that is harnessed through fluidity. Awakening exists to inspire anyone who has ever felt undervalued in a system where two predetermined sexes dominate all. To uplift those who have felt lost and worthless by unveiling a higher realm of being.

Ultimately I want my pieces to inspire an internal bulletproof strength along with an eerie, sacred calmness.

Model: Trent Doyle Photographer: The OX Project

ARTIST STATEMENT

Grant Karpin is a gender-fluid makeup artist and fashion designer originally from the Kansas City area. He is currently pursuing his BFA in Fashion at The School of the Art Institute Chicago, in the School’s selective “scholars” program, and plans to combine his passions for both makeup and garment design after graduation. Grant uses his artistry to showcase individuality and the power of living authentically. He most recently received The Perry Ellis Scholarship for his junior thesis collection, “Metamorphosis,” and continues to create compelling work focusing on connections between identity and transformations in nature.

——— I would like to first thank Rey and Abigail for constantly believing in me and pushing my work to greater levels than I could have ever seen! They both created the most comforting environment to develop and complete this collection. I also want to extend a huge thank you to my friends and family for being an amazing support system throughout this entire year! The Facetime breakdowns really were worth it. Also, major shoutout to the 1am Sullivan Poptarts and daily iced coffees for pulling me through.

Background photo: Model: Kev Gamboa Photograph: The OX Project

Hope Vaughan

No Clip Noclip: to travel through physical or metaphysical boundaries.

To capture a moment of transition between one state and another.

This collection is inspired by the ways we have slowly uploaded all aspects of our lives onto the internet. School, work, relationships; it’s all happening in the same place. The shape shifting capabilities of the virtual world led me to consider if a garment could work in a similar way, creating and crossing boundaries at the same time.

I began by draping with an old jacket to find a space for the body between the shell and the lining, to allow the lining to function as two different components of a garment. This also encourages a kind of interaction between garment and wearer I see as being similar to traveling through virtual spaces, as the wearer is able to constantly shift their appearance.

I also considered how these shifts could manifest themselves into the surface treatment of fabrics. I wanted to find and recreate real life instances of glitching. I interpreted this through loosening and fraying woven fabrics, as well as intentional floats. I also wanted to incorporate the color pink as I associate it with printers printing the wrong colors as they run out of ink.

The garments were also meant to cross the boundaries separating past from present from future. I re-created vintage and timeless pieces, then glitched them through patterning or styling, to suggest an item which has been preserved in a virtual space, and has endured updates and errors, making it simultaneously appear old and new.

Model: Theresa Okuwobi Photographer: The OX Project

ARTIST STATEMENT

My desire to make clothing comes from an appreciation of its transformative capabilities. Entire stories and worlds are synthesized from every detail of a garment. Like any art form, there is a limitlessness behind their conception, yet a set of constraints regarding their creation, due to a required response to physics, movement, and the elements.

With a strong consideration for both narrative and sustainability, I like to start with pieces that have already developed strong cultural associations, to not only suggest ways we can create something new out of what we already have, but to also add to the stories these pieces already tell. Through this way of thinking, there is a naturally occurring result; a piece which is both grounded in tradition, and updated due to exciting new shapes created when basic functional aspects also aid the current necessity to move, adapt and change.

Thank you to my parents, brother, amazing teachers, and friends across the globe/universe.

Kendall Schamel

The Field of Reeds The preservation of bodies in Ancient Egypt is essential to a soul’s survival in the afterlife. The Field of Reeds showcases a soul on its journey through the afterlife, not knowing if it is chained to reality or finally liberated. I aim to show an evolution that will empower the wearer throughout their journey to freedom.

My collection showcases simplified lines that give each look a sleek and modern silhouette. Geometric shapes are featured to add an architectural composition to each garment, which keeps the wearer grounded to reality. A bold yet simplistic clean-cut piece empowers the wearer, while tiers of panels are layered throughout each look to display the many trials one goes through until they are free.

Model: Natasha De Leon / Select Models Photographer: The OX Project

ARTIST STATEMENT

Kendall Schamel designs and constructs womenswear clothing that encompasses a bold, modern, and sleek silhouette.

She pulls inspiration from her research and takes an in-depth look into specific topics to gain a greater understanding.

She then utilizes her research and modernizes it to create a narrative that she brings to life within her garments. Kendall prefers minimalistic designs that can be dressed up or down to wear on any occasion. Her client is a bold, elegant, fearless, and unapologetic woman. Kendall’s sleek and elegant pieces display an effortless approach to style, empowering the wearer to be free.

——— Kendall would like to thank her family, friends, and boyfriend for their endless support and encouragement. Her collection could not have happened without wisdom and guidance from Abigail and Rey, who always knew the right words to say.

Lastly, Kendall is incredibly grateful for her supporters believing in her and giving her a push when she needed it most.

Jiayu (Sherry) Hu

Ceteris Paribus

Modern employment is a form of wage slavery. In order to escape, people have developed layers of protection and armors which eventually become the strength. The hierarchy in work and the competitive nature of office culture can easily make the middle-class workers feel a lack of confidence. They gradually start presenting themselves to their colleagues and bosses by enlarging their bodies to appear more powerful in order not to be defeated. This performance of power becomes their ideal image, and once they are at the top, they view themselves as if they have escaped from the horrors of wage slavery, but they are still part of the system. In order to maintain their status, they have to become part of the system. Nothing has changed.

Model: Natalie Bryant / Select Models Photographer: The OX Project

ARTIST STATEMENT

I want to give thanks to my professors Rey and Abigail who put so much time and effort into my work, giving me patience, faith and guidance throughout the year. I truly appreciate you and your time you spent helping me on many occasions. Thank you very much for the course and being my friend outside of school. I enjoyed every minute of your feedback as well as your marvelous sense of humor. I would also like to thank my parents for giving me all the best things you could give. Thank you so much for supporting and understanding me all this journey.

Thank you so much for being my parents.

Tara Kathryn Froelich

tor-Q In the 1890’s, a soda company opened its doors in the small town of Torque Grove. They introduced their brand new soft drink called tor-Q and it was an instant success. The tor-Q board of directors soon realized their business was profitable enough to send their product to neighboring states, so they got to work expanding the production line. During the construction, a tank of unfiltered tor-Q was damaged and quickly flooded the factory. The workers were unable to contain it and the unfiltered tor-Q made its way to the town’s reservoir.

The tainted water slowly mutated the townsfolk. They were initially angry at the soda company for changing their molecular structure but the people of Torque Grove changed their tune when told that tor-Q soda would donate 10 percent of their profits to them. As time passed, tor-Q grew to be one of the world’s top soda brands, and the people of Torque Grove continued to mutate. To show this progression, each of the eight garments in my storyline represents a specific decade from the 1890s to present day. In them you can see the individual character of who wore it, as well as how their clothes adapted to their further mutating bodies.

Model: Colin Froehlich Photographer: The OX Project

ARTIST STATEMENT

Storytelling is my greatest motivator as a costume designer. I am interested in doing in-depth research that spans historical events as well as location. This includes researching and developing fully rounded characters and creating the rich environment that these characters exist in. For example, in my speculative collection “tor-Q,” my setting was a small town in 1890s America whose citizens started to mutate due to a soda company disaster. Over the span of over 100 years, I documented how their bodies and style adapted depending on how their skin mutation appears. I also researched historical events in eight decades, and determined what a person’s life in this small town could be like. The characters I created ranged from upper-class socialites, to businessmen, to motorcycle enthusiasts. In this collection and in my work as whole my focus is on creating a person and telling a chronological story through each individual garment.

Forbidden Planet Remount, Advanced Costume Design with Bambi Breakstone

Big thanks to everyone who helped me by doing fabric runs, getting me snacks, and putting up with my stress. And the biggest thank you to my dog, Rory, without his slobber none of this would be possible.

Elsa Jiawei Shao

Who You want to be?

A Girl or A Woman?

This collection demonstrates women’s liberation, and how I wish to change how women dress to empower other women, who are frustrated by the male gaze. The 8 looks embody the different phases of a woman’s life, and I gathered some key features from women’s childhood, adolescence, middle age, and old age. From observing these materials, I found the intersectionality among the phases. Specifically, some girls have the fantasy of getting married, of being a mother by wearing their parents’ uniforms. Adolescents want their period to come at a certain age, which embodies physical maturity. However, when it comes to the middle age, women usually get tired of the marriage, their jobs, parenting what used to be the fantasies in their childhood. As far as menstruation, it gives women pain, and in some cultures it makes women ashamed of having periods. Menstruation and some specific types of garment for certain ages are the key elements that I employed in this collection. By blending the elements together, I want to show the tension in women’s life, their happiness, desire, courage, and fear. For example, I want to de-stigmatising period by signifying the blood stains on the garments, such as the big red pleats on the center of pants, and those continuous red lines on the jackets and corsets. Besides, I designed many corsets, which embodies the outside restrictions against women, but, at same time, those corsets do help to express the beauty of women’s bodies. Thus, the tension and struggle between beauty and pain are throughout my collection.

Model: Lincoln Wang Photographer: Elsa Jiawei Shao

ARTIST STATEMENT

Clothing or a uniform... is a necessity in our life, clothes carry hidden social meaning and embody the gender dynamic in the workforce and in a family. As a woman, I have very often experienced unfair treatment because of my sex. People have also judged me for the type of clothing I wear. I observed the way women have been treated in history and how the patriarchal culture devalues women’s bodies and identity.

Double standards embody the idea that “seeing is believing, it is only as we collectively change the way we look at ourselves and the world that we can change how we are seen”. With this collection, I want to shout out to our society, “stop discriminating and judging women by their body features and the type of clothing they are wearing”. We do not need men’s affirmation to feel beautiful and confident. How a society treats a person can impact how an individual evaluates themselves .

As a female artist and designer, I believe garments are beyond just a fashion object that can only make people look good.

By wearing my design, I hope women feel empowered and confident, and I believe that the confidence women carry could affect society and let individuals appreciate female power.

Speaking of my design philosophy, I believe in “God is in the details”, and I want to make sustainable and classic garments that would make people like to keep them in their wardrobe for more than ten years. Thus, I prefer a clean and simple silhouette, and to express my creativity and design elements in details.

Model: Lincoln Wang Photographer: Elsa Jiawei Shao

Helen Hua-zhang Gu

Unloved.

Loved(?)

Helen questions the state of fatal failure of love in the making process of her senior collection Unloved. Loved(?).

Resonating her cynical attitudes and sexual motivations to Film Noir aesthetics, her designs are shifting between the thin line between infatuation and lust, telling a personal story about submission, aggression, vulnerability and greed.

Looking for direct, satirical play on gendered metaphors on femininity, with condensed conceptual and visual study in poems, films and sculptures. With her construction crafts via Gerber Accumark and her free-style draping, she recurred thrifted domestic kitchen wares and handkerchiefs/tablecloths/ curtains with ’50s aesthetic through contemporary female instinct. Eventually her story ended in nowhere, but she cannot help to ask one more time.

She wants people to be true to their emotions and memories, even those darkest ones, and for that to be makes them powerful­—that’s the basis of this collection.

Model: Brenda Halter / Select Models Photographer: The OX Project

ARTIST STATEMENT

Wearing Helen Gu is wearing poetry. She makes garments because she’s urgent to tell her personal obsessions and emotions - a woman’s inner struggles and sufferings into something can be held. For her, a woman’s body is the perfect vessel to preserve those fleeting intensive moments into eternity. In fashion, sensations and poetry are the base. She practices construction and visual studies with her own writings.

After all, she’s a lover for everyone, her love story is anyoneles’ story. She said, “don’t call it fantasy, it’s as ROUGH as reality” Model: Summer Tribble Photographer: Helen Hua-Zhang Gu

I’d like to take this pride for fashion, which brings so much strength for me and the people around me.

Yiyan Wang

Wu Wei In Taoism Wu Wei encourages people to take actions according to nature’s course of the universe. In this collection, I interpret this term in my own way. I believe in 21st century, the nature shouldn’t exclude human creations since technology has became the most essential component of human’s habitat.

Act according to nature means accepting technology as part of nature and recognize how it can affect human’s recent and future life. Clothing as part of the daily essential should also develop according to this ideology. Clothing is part of the nature and should function as human’s second skin. The essential function of skin is to protect human body. Through the change of environment, a lot of new layers can act as skin. For example, we been wearing masks since the pandemic, mask is functioning as an extension of skin. I research protective wear and utility wear that function as skin as part of the silhouette inspirations. I want to present the transformation of the ideology and the shift of how garments became an extension of skin. I looked back to the original term and decide to use Taoism robe and meridian lines (acupuncture) as references. I deconstructed a Taoism robe according to meridian lines and draped with it to find shapes. Chinese herbs are used to dye my fabric, because just like acupuncture, they are both considered as natural medications human invented. I also used embroidery and stitches to recreate human skin texture to reflect back to the original skin. From look1 to look8, the whole process of how Wu Wei’s concept shifted is presented.

Models: Fei Elwald, JRah Photography: Margaret Liang; Assistant: Coe Hutchinson

Model: Delar Gaston / Select Models Photographer: The OX Project

ARTIST STATEMENT

Yiyan Wang is a fashion designer who is from Wuhan, China.

Based in Chicago, Yiyan is studying at SAIC for her BFA degree.

She is empowering femininity through her work. Her work often related to her personal experience. She likes to include ancient philosophy concepts into her topic and elaborate them in modern approaches. Exploring Chinese herb dye is one of her practice. She cares about sustainability in fashion so she tries to elaborate zero waste cutting as much as possible in her work.

Draping, deconstructions, and collages are the main methods she uses to design silhouettes.

——— I want thank Rey and Abigail for being the most caring, patient and inspiring professors. Thank my parents for teaching me how to dream big. This would not have been possible without your support. Thanks all my friends and my boyfriend for being my support system. Lastly special thanks to my doggie for always being so cute and staying up late to be my sewing buddy.

Nic Holmberg

A House is Not a Home The suburban American home of the ’50s and ’60s models an ideal family in its literal and symbolic structure. The walls and internal structures secure the family. These homes are a grounds for interaction and the containers of memory.

There are thousands of instances of the same sink, couch, table, or home textile but each holds specific meaning to the individuals who interact with it. The particularities of the house thus become an intimate part of the family, even though they are mass produced. This intimacy with objects sits along side the alienation of queerness within the hegemony of hetero-norms of the suburbs­—the connection with objects becomes a tempting stand in for happiness. By investing in the objects representative of familial happiness, there is hope that this alienation can be overcome; a sense of security is found in abundance.

Model: Dan Puzan (left), Cameron Feeley (right) Photographer: The OX Project

ARTIST STATEMENT

My work contends with the surplus of material in the world and questions the emotions and intimacy surrounding mass produced goods, “products,” and trash. Well loved objects may not be individualistic or unique--they are copies yet are treated as special until they are discarded. I am interested in the journey of an object from abundance to obscurity.

Models, top photo from left to right: Dan Puzan, Cameron Feeley, Sam Travis, Declan Flynn. Model, bottom photo: Sam Travis Photographer: The OX Project

The Fashion Resource Center

FRC When the Fashion Resource Center was founded in 1987, it took up a single closet in the Fashion Design department, then located in the basement of the 280 Building located at 280 South Columbus Drive What began as a tiny hands-on study collection of donated garments, would steadily grow and evolve with the Fashion Design department it was meant to serve. By 1988, the department had relocated to the tenth floor of the Sharp Building, where the FRC occupied a corner room now housing the Textile Resource Center. It grew to become part of SAIC’s network of Library + Special Collections, as it continued to acquire a unique hands-on archive of late 20th and 21st-century designer garments and accessories representing innovations in design, materials, construction and embellishment. In 2007 the FRC moved with the Fashion Design department to its current location in the Sullivan Center.

Its recently renovated space houses some 2000 garments and accessories, as well as over 4,000 fashion publications, scholarly texts, look books, biographies, instructional materials and vintage magazines dating back to the 1890s. Rare and out-of-print books are shelved alongside recent publications exploring fashion’s relationship to a variety of topics such as identity, gender, sustainability and technology. more

Photography: Alex Aubry Garment: Nina Ricci haute couture c. 1965

BUILDING COMMUNITY THROUGH COLLABORATION

Volunteer Cataloguing

This repository of research materials has expanded to include 800 fashion-related films, as well as a comprehensive fabric library to support and illuminate the garments and accessories in its collection. Over the years, the FRC has evolved into a state-of-the-art research facility dedicated to the study of fashion and its intersection with diverse disciplines. Neither a library nor a museum collection, its hybrid nature makes it one of the few hands-on fashion archives of its kind in an institution of higher learning. Its place within an art school also offers students from diverse disciplines the opportunity to explore and grow their creative and design practices. What made the FRC unique from its counterparts early on was its mission to remain accessible to SAIC faculty and students. Its welcoming and inclusive environment encourages visitors to browse and explore its non-circulating collection, with the freedom to wander and select materials of interest to them. They include 19th century bustles and corsets, examples of Visionaire, the limited-edition fashion publication that has become a collector’s item, as well as avantgarde garments by Comme des Garçons, Yohji Yamamoto, A.F. Vandevorst, Martin Margiela and Junya Watanabe. Unlike a museum collection, visitors are encouraged to handle and examine garments and objects, as touch is integral to the learning experience at FRC. Central to its mission is a commitment to nurturing a sense of community within the Fashion Design department as well as SAIC at large. Among its many functions is serving as a meeting space for classes, workshops, film screenings, talks and lectures by noted scholars and figures in the fashion industry such as Isabel and Ruben Toledo, Ralph Rucci, Gareth Pugh, Jean Charles de Castelbajac, Sophie Theallet and Iris Van Herpen.

Sustaining and supporting this community over the decades has been a dedicated team of directors, graduate assistants and volunteers. For the past 25 years, the FRC has worked with the Art Institute of Chicago’s Department of Volunteer Services to assemble a unique team that assists faculty and students with their research needs. With years of service stretching over a decade, its team has helped build and maintain the FRC’s collection through donations, cataloguing, mending garments and providing tours. By forging relationships with faculty and students, they have also become the holders of FRC’s institutional knowledge, thanks to their many years working with the collection.

In March 2020, like many departments at SAIC, the FRC had to quickly pivot to meet the needs of its users during a global pandemic. Among its many challenges was how to continue its mission as an accessible resource to a community that was now working virtually. By April 2020, FRC staff had returned to a much quieter campus where they set about scanning books and research materials for faculty and students meeting via Zoom. In addition to offering digital resources and lectures for online courses, staff worked with faculty to assemble PowerPoint presentations of FRC garments and accessories to serve as instructional tools. The FRC had also begun the long process of digitizing its collection three years ago. Working in collaboration with the collections management and cataloguing staff at SAIC’s John M. Flaxman Library, FRC’s database of books and look books was made available on the Flaxman’s online catalogue. In the summer of 2019, FRC staff worked with SAIC alum James Prinz to photograph its entire collection of garments, accessories and objects. Collaborating with the John M. Flaxman Library’s Digital Services staff, FRC graduate assistants and volunteers also began the process of collecting measurements and information on each object in the collection for an online catalogue.

Although work on the FRC’s garment and accessories database was still ongoing when SAIC’s campus closed in March 2020, an initial online catalogue of 270 garments was made available to faculty and students.

In addition to information on each object, users are able to zoom in on multiple images of garments to examine them in greater detail. Throughout the pandemic FRC and Flaxman Library staff have continued to catalogue the collection to make more of it available online for faculty and students. This spirit of collaboration within SAIC also extended to other projects undertaken by the FRC, to further serve the needs of its community during the pandemic. A frequent stop on campus tours as well as hosting regular class visits, the FRC had to limit the number of visitors to its space to maintain safety and social distancing guidelines. In the summer of 2020, FRC team members, including a former graduate assistant and a graduate of the Fashion Design department, participated in the filming of an orientation video. Working in collaboration with SAIC’s Academic Media Production Department (AMP), the comprehensive video provides a virtual tour of its space and resources.

Team member and former graduate assistant Chris Williford participating in FRC orientation video

During the past year the FRC continued to explore new ways of working and utilizing its collection. When instructors in the Fashion Design department were not able to bring their classes in to examine garments, the FRC worked with faculty and AMP on a series of instructional videos. The project was launched in collaboration with Fashion Design department Chair Katrin Schnabl and Assistant Professor Abigail Glaum-Lathbury, who were filmed highlighting FRC garments featuring innovative constructions, materials and embellishments. The result was an initial offering of 36 videos that were made available online to faculty and students, with the goal of producing additional videos with faculty in the future. This collaborative spirit is a reminder that the FRC is more than a repository of objects and research materials. For 35 years it has been a part of the fabric of the Fashion Design department, supporting SAIC faculty and students in their teaching and academic development.

DIRECTOR

AT A GLANCE

2020 -21 LECTURE SERIES

Alex Aubry

— Over 2000 designer garments & accessories — Over 4000 publications including designer biographies, look books & journals — 26 fashion, lifestyle & design magazine subscriptions — Regularly updated files containing designer biographies & interviews — Over 800 audiovisual materials covering diverse fashion disciplines — A comprehensive fabric library — Over 1,000 magazines from 1900-present including Vogue & Harper’s Bazaar — Lectures, film screenings & tours

During the pandemic the FRC teamed up with the Alliance Francaise de Chicago on the following online lecture series:

GRADUATE ASSISTANTS Kim Upstill Martha Wilde VOLUNTEERS Alexandra Katich Chris Williford Cie Bond Claris Cahan Cynthia Buciak Donna Whitacre Elizabeth Cohen Elizabeth Houlihan Lorraine Williams Bock Margarette Alfaro Nancy DeDakis Nancy Mollers Paige Bennett Raoul Basa Ruslana Litinskaia Sue Chemler Yanet Ramirez de Grech Zent Keymole

Gloria Groom: The Confluence of Clothing & Fine Arts Isabelle Chaput & Nelson Tiberghien: The Young Emperors Reimagining the Fashion Influencer Rachel Fenderson: Jay Jaxon, An American Couturier in Paris Veronica Webb & Sophie Theallet: Model Citizen Nan Devitt & John Cressey: Fashion TV, Front Row & Backstage

CONNECT Fashion Resource Center School of the Art Institute of Chicago 36 South Wabash Avenue, Chicago, IL 60603 frc@saic.edu 312.629.6730 saic.edu/frc FB: /FRC/SAIC Insta: @fashionresourcecenter

SAIC Fashion

Graduate Curriculum The POST-BACCALAUREATE Certificate in Fashion, Body and Garment program provides students who have an undergraduate degree with an opportunity to further develop their technical and conceptual fashion skills in a large, professional fine arts school environment.

Some students enter the program as a transitional preparation for graduate school, while others seek its industry-oriented approach as practical groundwork for internships and careers in the fashion industry.

This intensive, two-year MASTER OF DESIGN IN graduate program provides a place for an expansive investigation of fashion, body, and garment and for deeper individual research leading to a final, distilled collection, or body of work that is exhibited as appropriate to the form. It begins with an investigation of the intimate relationship of garment as second skin and expands to the exploration of fashion within the context of community, sustainability, technology, and the industry.

FASHION, BODY AND GARMENT

Yichen Li, Cut and Mend Photography: James Prinz

Clockwise from top left Isaac Couch, Hands Up Yan Yang, Recording Brennan Brower, Guidelines Photography: James Prinz

Ellington Bramwell, Untethered Photography: James Prinz

Thank You

Jesse Abudayyeh Giovanni Aloe Andrei Amando JP Anderson Noel Ashby Kym Barrett Kevin Bass Harold Batista Maria Beniaris Andrew Berlin Heiji C. Black Amy Bluhm David Boatman Adam Brand Anna Brown Sacha Brown Ruth Carter Hazel Cashmore Nick Cave Candace Coleman Natalie Crawford Paige Danielson Marissa Davis Naresh Dhamija Sean DeSantis Trent Doyle Driehaus Foundation Gonzalo Escobar Mora Robert C. Faust Eric Fernandez Film, Video, New Media, and Animation Department Greg Fishman Joshua Fox Laura D. Front Gene Siskel Film Center Bridget Giroux Gloria L. Groom Bridget Halanski Jamie Hayes Mark Jeffery Jane Jenkins Ruth Jennings Jason R. Kalajainen Joshua Kim Michelle Kim Dietrich Klevorn Sara Kozlowski Stephanie Lentz Wilkinson Amy Limpinyakul Margaret B. MacLean

Janika Mägi Charles Masters Carrie Meghie Harmen Meinsma Monique Meloche Buxton Midyette Nathan Miller Ellen Mirojnick Melissa A. Moore Angela Morano Cherilyn Murer Danessa Myricks Beauty Maria V. Pinto Ethan Pombo Nicha Poolpol Roger Price Jim Prinz Compton Quashie Robin Richman Cally Rieman Carolyn A. Rosenberg Ralph Rucci SAIC Media Center Ellen Sandor Katrin Schnabl Select Model Management Jacob Shanbrom Bill Shapiro Stephanie A. Sick Stephanie Sims Petra Slinkard Ellie Sperry Elizabeth St. Louis Supima Jimmie Swaggerty JoAnn Tan Marjolaine Tassin Jonathan Taylor Tiffany & Co. Teresa Tkachuk Franky Tran Frances E. Tuite Pamela Vanderlinde Michael Anthony Ward Lisa Warshauer Roopa P. Weber Julie Weiss Richard Wetzel Sophie Williams John H. Winzeler Jessica Womack Hex Yang