Emmalinatotes

While fashion design has become a controversial space considering the environmental impact of the industry, the study of it was deeply rewarding. It gave me the chance to understand the entire cycle of clothing production, from raw materials to the items we see on the shelves.

At Parsons I learned design ideation, furthered my sketching abilities, and tackled the essential skill of making technical flats. The program also exposed me to the Adobe suite; leaving me comfortable and confident with Illustrator, Photoshop, and Indesign.

Under the instruction of professors with decades of experience in the industry, we studied drafting and draping in muslin, pattern-making and appropriate fabric selection. While these exacting steps of the process are the hardest to grasp, they’re also the foundation for well-fitted garments.

The final step of construction is when you see the design come to life. Incredibly gratifying, yet acts like the denouement in a novel; you need to understand all that came before in order to fully appreciate of the significance of that moment.

Once you have the technical abilities, they can be applied to any style. The collections in the galleries below were made in response to widely varied assignments, specifically created to allow for growth. My favorite collections will always be the ones that represent the visual intersection between nature and history.