LOVE : The Warrior’s Aesthetic
BROOKLYN FASHION ACADEMY 2023
There are few opportunities that I wait for. Usually, if I see something I want to participate in, I will apply, wish myself success, and apply again if not accepted. However, participating in the Brooklyn Public Library Fashion Academy was an opportunity that I knew I had to wait for the right moment.
If you’ve read my story as an artist, you know that both my grandmother and mother influenced my creative skills. My grandmother was a milliner and a very fashionable woman. My mother is a self-taught craftsman and a seamstress, who made all of my costumes and taught me the basics of using a sewing machine. I thought I would have the opportunity to dive deeper into fashion design while studying in art school but I found the environment uninviting, intimidating, and particularly expensive. At the time, I really couldn’t afford the materials needed to suit my ambitions and was too emotionally overwhelmed to be thinking resourcefully.
Jump to recent times and this opportunity to participate in the 5th season of the Fashion Academy where the theme aligned perfectly with Crown Inspired aesthetics, I knew this was finally my time.
While the program was free to participate, there were a few requirements. First and mainly, we were required to make at least 4 looks based on a chosen Egyptian deity. Since I have always seen the parasols as a kind of barrier to protect the crown, I continued to expand this theme by choosing the Egyptian god of War, Mntu. Mntu is the protector of the goddess Ma’at (the personified concept of truth, balance, order, harmony, law, morality, and justice). With this deity, I could explore the warrior aesthetic.
The program consisted of educational sessions for establishing a fashion brand - with classes on sustainability, sourcing, accessories design, and market research - design mentorship, and a workspace within the library. We were given a choice of materials to work with sourced from FABSCRAP and the requirement to volunteer for at least 4 hours. In the spirit of resourcefulness and sustainability, I chose to use what I had available in my studio and the materials I received from FABSCRAP. I find that with limitations, creativity can flourish.
During the design process, I wanted to showcase the parasols as the weapons of Mntu, creating a staff with a parasol and a cardboard tube, a fan to represent a knife, and the parasols to represent swords. The garment designs incorporated weaving and draping techniques from Egyptian and African inspirations.
Overall, this program was a wonderful experience to understand the steps of making and showcasing a fashion collection. It was also a great way to start answering a popular question: ‘Where did you get what you’re wearing?’ I can happily say I am working on it, but I am glad to be able to share some aesthetics with you now.
You can watch the Live show on the Brooklyn Public Library YouTube page sans music (to protect the live from shutting of because of copyright laws) or view the capsule collection via Black in the Core.