senior collection

G O I N G W I T H I T

Throughout my four years of my working towards my fashion design degree at Syracuse University, it seems as though all of my studying has led me to my senior collection.

Sitting down to design my collection, saying I was lost would be an understatement. I turned on my music and immediately had an urge to play a song I hadn’t listened to in years: Cosmic Love by Florence and the Machine. Almost instantly I had a rush of excitement and inspiration as I began envisioning garments walking down the runway to this song. The mystical rhythms of the song reminded me of my interest in astronomy and the way I believe it effects the way we all live our lives. Drawing off of this, my fascination with constellations, the universe and universal fate were my inspiration.

My collection is entitled “Going With It.” The concept of the universe having a plan for everyone, the belief in everything happening for a reason, led to the idea of “Going With It” or “Going With the Flow”. My goal was to create a collection in which my personal style, as well as personality, was portrayed in a well designed manner. Being that this is a mantra I strive to live by daily, “Going With It” was developed.

The combination of multiple fabrics and textures can seem overwhelming; however, upon taking a step back, the eye is able to stabilize and take in the garments as a whole. Similarly to the way in which daily events in life can seem chaotic at the time, but when taking a step back, it becomes apparent that everything was meant to be and falls into place- the universe had a plan all along. Up close, certain events or tasks that occur have the ability to seem unnecessary, while in the grand scheme, every moment is part of a bigger, more beautiful, picture. The use of lace and transparent fabrics is representational to the way in which being transparent and vulnerable is part of allowing oneself to believe in what is planned and simply go with it all.

Look One

Black satin silk structured vest, on top of a mesh point d’esprit long sleeve shirt with ruffle sleeve details; matched with low rise black satin silk flowing pants, with hand sewn satin covered shank buttons. Paired with a matching point d’esprit neckpiece to tie the look together, as well as a belt with individual ribbons sewn to create texture, contrasting with the long, sleek silk that falls behind it, with a chiffon train underneath.

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Look Four

The repetitive black point d’esprit fabric is utilized to create a light, cropped top with a high neck, bound together with hand sewn satin covered shank buttons. A variety of fabrics create an interesting dynamic and texture in a ruffle that spans the front and back of the left shoulder. The solid metallic bralette underneath and and solid, sleek, silk shorts create a balance between transparent and non-transparent aspects. The soft chiffon legs that flow from the hem of the shorts allows for a gentle movement while walking.

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Look Two

Black silk short jumpsuit with a high neck to elongate the lines and form of the body; worn with a simple, long, long sleeved lace jacket, allowing the main focus to be the dramatic ruffle lining the neck.

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Look Five

A black satin bralette and transparent skirt with slits at both front princess seams, are combined into one garment with a satin ruffle trim that follows along the skirt slits and up into the straps of the bralette. The hand sewn satin covered shank buttons that are stitched along the top of both skirt princess seams, reflects earlier looks and their button detailing. With the skirt fabric, a neckpiece with center front buttons was created to mimic the high necks that are present throughout the collection.

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Look Three

Black silk fitted bustier with hand sewn satin covered shank button details, worn with an elastic ruffle overlay that clasps in the front, on top of the bustier; the elegance of the black silk top is continued with the black silk pants that adorn a silk ruffled bottom. On top of the pants a ruffled skirt is wrapped around and attached on the side with the same buttons as the bustier.

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Look Six

Aiming to evoke a light and airy aesthetic, this dress ties together the collection with the inclusion of multiple different fabrics, textures, and details for the eye to focus on. The simple dress with an elastic empire waist is made in the light point d’esprit fabric that flows gently behind to create movement. However, the combination of multiple fabrics to create textured ruffles on a diagonal alludes to the edgier nature of my designs. This look was the final look I designed and it is most reflective of my general design aesthetic, as well as a true culmination of all of the details and aspects within my collection as a whole. Designing a bomber jacket over an otherwise feminine and elegant dress is the typical way in which I tend to mix soft elegance with stronger, more edgy, elements.

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Clicking the button above will display the full lookbook for Going With It, which includes flat drawings as well as additional photos from the photoshoot.