Parsons : 2010 :
Senior Thesis Collection :
"Ouroboros"
Overview:
In the summer of 2009 I went on a roadtrip to coastal Maine, where I would camp with my family many times as a child.
As I waded into the water of Lake Sebago, I
thought : "how many versions of myself have existed exactly here, all in this body but so different every time?" This thought formed the core of my Senior Thesis Collection at Parsons, entitled "Ouroboros".
The collection is a love letter, a communion, a grieving, and a hopeful look forward. It is about my hometown, the places I loved, my family, and my heart.
A hand-knit sweater is created in Colorado with wool from the spinner's farm, in the gauge and color of my grandmother's favorite sweater.
Cotton duck canvas, the first fabric I worked with at 14 years old, is sourced from the same JoAnn's Fabric, deadstock from the same dye lot. The jacket it becomes in this collection is also cut in waxy Nubuck leather, in the same color. An overt visual reference to the collapsing of time.
Graphic tees consist of obscured images of Sebago, a place I love dearly, and Anchorage Alaska, a place I have just begun
to fall in love with.
Fairisle sweater knit motifs are warped and inverted, representing both New England Salvation Army finds and my own conflict with religion opposed to the deeper, greater unknown.
A wool coat is cut to remind me of my childhood Karate Gi. Hoods are cut to remind me of my high school baseball hoodies. Pants are darted at center back leg to remind me of tailoring garments the "wrong" way when I first moved to NYC in 2006. Duchess silk satin shorts remind me of the sheen of CT HxC punk band shorts. Wool long johns remind me of waking up in the family tent, feeling the cold morning Lake Sebago air.
Deeply personal reference points, the proportions warped, extended, loosened and tightened...the circularity of time and memory, beginning and ending, again and again, forever.
The model is my childhood friend Andrew, shot in my Chelsea apartment, in natural light.
The Collection is about what was, what is, and what will be. I was honored that this deeply personal story resonated with my peers and faculty at Parsons, when I was awarded Menswear Designer of the Year for my graduating class of 2010.
Many years have passed since I created this body of work. Every time I look back on it, I am filled with emotion, clarity, pride and renewed sense of motivation to continue on my design journey.