About Me
Hi, I’m Tiani a womenswear design graduate from Coventry University.
My collection, 'Gaze' is inspired by the intersectional feminist movement.
The message of my collection is that your clothes reflect who you are; interests and values, a wearable statement. The garments focus on the concept of recapturing the female gaze; designing for visual impact and joy.
INSPIRATION
My initial ideas were inspired by a visit to the “Power to the People” exhibition.
The Power to the People exhibition displayed over four centuries of work. The piece that most influenced me was the “Forward Birmingham” banner by Sandi Kiehlman. It featured a female figure holding a flaming torch over the city skyline. It inspired me to think about how symbolic imagery is used by activists and protesters, and how I could integrate a cause that’s important to me into my designs.
I was also inspired by how protesters during civil rights and feminist movements would create a ‘uniform’ by using certain colours and silhouettes; such as the utilitarian denim and leather styles used in the 1970s by the Black Panther party.
MY WORK
PORTFOLIOS
Cover page Gaze collection.
Inspiration board.
Embroidered portrait collages.
Samples created with felting and embroidery.
Toiling process, CADS and outfit 1 illustration.
Garment development.
Protest banner illustration.
6 outfit line-up.
Final Outfit zip front pinafore and turtleneck.
Sign holding pair illustration.
Final Outfit felted coat 1.
Illustrated muse.
Final Outfit felted coat 2.
Final illustration with megaphone.
DETAIL
I use a combination of print, free hand embroidery and felted textiles in my garments.
I created 1970s influenced garments with; high impact colours, and exaggerated collar and sleeve shapes, surface embellishments inspired by handmade crafts like embroidery and felting. My print designs feature bold and vibrant portraits that aim to represent a variety of women, influenced by the graphic prints and posters used on protest signs and clothing so that they could be seen clearly in a crowd. Wanting to create a statement piece for my collection, I designed an oversized trench coat to be embellished with needle felted portraits. Felted faces of various scales and colours were then finished with free hand embroidery in contrasting topstitching threads to draw attention to the eyes; in reference to the idea of ‘seeing’ and acknowledging the various forms of inequality faced by women and how it effects our individual lived experience.
Kimberlé Crenshaw, an American law professor explained Intersectional feminism as: “a prism for seeing the way in which various forms of inequality often operate together and exacerbate each other.”
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