"Kohl's S/S 2021 Collection"
I was able to work hand-in-hand with Kohl's Corporation, located in Menomonee Falls, WI, to develop a collection within their well-known brand "So", Girl's 7-16. When creating the line for this project, I was very excited because I always had a love for children and being able to be given the opportunity to design children's wear has definitely been a dream of mine. I first started off by developing my brand research and getting to know the company itself a little bit better, as well as their competitor stores. I looked at customer reviews, fabrications, colors, what the company abides by, price, and some runway/catalog inspiration to really help develop the final ideations of what I was going for within the brand "So". After that, I continued by developing an "art board" as well as a "mood board" to really develop the customer profile that Kohl's strives for. From then on, you start to dig deeper into finding fabrications, patterns, colors, and key details that you would like to incorporate within the collection. Lastly. I had to create the garments (dividing them into Spring/Summer deliveries) and really having the pieces come to life! This was probably one of my favorite steps within this whole process because you really start to see it all visually come together!
"Women's Workwear"
For as long as we can remember, the working world has always been a tough place..., especially for women. Throughout the years, women have been taught to go after careers that are more "feminine" and that require "less time"....but quite frankly....not all women want that. In the early ages, it was simply unheard of for women to do the "dirty work". Stereotyping women in the work force has been an ongoing issue and for this project I wanted to take that theory to the next level. I have questioned myself and many others as to why there aren't enough women working as chefs, plumbers, EMT's, police officers, electricians, etc. because I know that women have just as much capability as a man does. Being a feminist and a women's activist, I strongly believe that no matter what gender we are, we should all be treated equally (in the workforce and outside of the workforce). Taking this project to a whole new level, I decided to draw my focus on the career as a plumber. It is said that only 1.5% out of 553,000 are women plumbers. This didn't surprise me at all, especially with seeing how society forms us into thinking these jobs are just "meant for men". With doing more research and finding out that such a small percentage of plumbers are female, made me realize that most of the time women are stuck having to wear men's uniforms to work because they just don't have the appropriate women's sizing that one needs. I knew, as a designer, that it would be my job to help make a comfortable, durable, and more suitable women's uniform for the "typical mans job". As you can see below, I started by gathering various forms of inspiration (mood board and runway), planning different sustainable fabrications (comfortable, but yet appropriate for the workforce), and started to develop my detailed sketches (tech flats) and final sketches (colored flats). All of which would benefit the hard-working women that she truly is!
"The Last Judgement"
With the struggles of women's rights and empowerment, I decided to develop a project where I was able to display the true recognition that I believe all women deserve. For my theme, I went with the "The Last Judgement". The "Last Judgement" painting was created by Michelangelo and is considered one of the most complex works of art. It lies on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel and took Michelangelo over four years to complete. The plethora of members shown in this painting represent everybody who has ever lived; the good, the bad, the famous and the obscure; the decision being taken by God must clearly be the most momentous of all decisions ever taken. My idea when creating this project was to take that idea as well as what women throughout the years had to go through and combine it as one. Women always struggled with being judged or stereotyped throughout the years, so why not speak up about it? Women shouldn't fear to be judged by others, for that is God's job to do. Women are powerful, unique, strong, and should be the very last thing to be judged. I was inspired by this vision and expressed my creativity and designs through this powerful message.
