My own personal style is a blend of loose tomboy looks and also feminine attire, I enjoy designing both menswear and womenswear and I find inspiration from all sources whether it is different genres of music, cultures styles. I am determined to create garments which make individuals feel like the best versions of themselves embrace their true identities
As a black female, I think it is important now more than ever to be vocal and remain informed on racial injustice and prejudice that exists in the world so I aim to create work to embrace and stimulate black culture. My design inspirations and aesthetics are a mix of urban-streetwear looks from growing up in London and the feminine provocative styles from my Jamaican heritage. My Final year projects have been heavily influenced by Black culture and my Jamaican heritage. Many of my projects aims to promote diversity and body positivity.
INSPIRATION
My Inspiration mainly comes from my Grandmother who designed and styled her own garments. The humble beginnings of Dancehall is truly inspiring as the’ ghetto youths’ created a new genre of music with whatever sound systems they could find and creating their own creative spaces which is evident in popular culture and fashion. Despite being a small island, Jamaica has had a cultural impact worldwide which is why I wanted to create a contemporary collection which pays homage to the symbolic culture.
Dancehall was prevalent in the 90s and 00s therefore, I wanted to blend the similar Y2K aesthetics and customisation elements into my collection, with a notion of ‘ making something out of nothing’ or finding the best out of what you have which led to creating my collection out of donated denim offcuts while also bleaching and dying them to promote sustainability and up-cycling methods . I wanted to create styles which where alluring and screamed confidence but also had an androgynous flair.
DETAIL
The aim was to source denim from suppliers in order to up-cycle and repurpose them to create an entirely new garment. The idea of making something out nothing relates to dancehall culture as young artists in the 80s were creating influential music from random sound systems that they could find. I began by experimenting with traditional dyeing methods e.g tie dye and developed mix print fabrics in a variety of shades. The dying allowed me to have organic abstract prints which worked well and made my project feel hand-crafted as I customised the fabrics. I also think that being apart of the next generation of designers and creatives we all have a great responsible to be environmentally sustainable which is why I used remnant fabrics that would usually go to waste to produce my collection.