A proposed collection practicing the personal art and design narratives in fashion design:
My proposed design line is entitled “valorie”. It was originally inspired by the etymology of the word valor, meaning courage and its latin roots in va-lore, meaning worth, and later the female given name of valorie. I was fascinated by ancient displays of valor by men shown through the use of decoration in armor, how they were celebrated for their courage in contrast with modern women’s dress. Whether the modern woman has the courage to dress feminine or masculine, conservative or risque, she’s ultimately judged for her worth by a society that’s often over focused on females’ outward appearances. Her courage and valor in dressing may seem frowned upon. Maybe my clothing, consisting of both revealing and conservative pieces, masculine and feminine, a balance of these concepts, will cater to a woman that can tease her viewers’ learned points of view. She can dress innocent or aggressive but live by similar rules of femininity. Or she can just be a fashion lover who would appreciate mixing and matching odd but wearable pieces together.
The shell fabrics in my collection are from right to left, a deep red paint stained gradient corduroy, an understated white sequin fabric(something barely noticeable as a sequin from a distance), and a red wool. I was interested in the sturdiness but stainable of wool and cord, but a faint showiness from a white sequin. These I hoped would balance each other out along with their deeply different colors, almost a deep vibrate bright and dark red with a white sequin.
Look 1 from right to left: is a repeated and tiered asymmetrical cord dress, inspired by medieval thigh guards but taken up to the shoulders, paired with a long sequin skirt. The outfit is completed with a medieval inspired red cord circlet sustained with interfacing and wire.
Look 2: is an asymmetric form fitting wedding gown top in white sequin and tassels, fitted with a pair of baggy work wear pants in painted red cord with medieval runic symbols. Again finished with the same circlet.
Look 3: is an armor inspired wrap-around wool top layered quite boxy, almost like going to war, into an asymmetrical red cord skirt on top of the same work pants. The same circlet is worn.
