Bobbin Talk

Sydney Seltzer

Sydney Seltzer's thesis fashion collection was inspired by her journal and how obsessively she writes in it. She has been writing in these books for years now and has a total of six of them. After looking at them she realized that they have become progressively more obsessive and controlled. She would write down what she had to do for the day and scribble it out perfectly on each page. For this collection she started thinking about the idea of control, and how she uses these books as a way to have some sort of "control" in her own life because a lot of things are so chaotic. To bring the concept into my thesis she focused on the idea of control vs. chaos. Control through color, line, and mimicked shapes. She created shapes with minimal seams or shapes that the wearer can change or control herself.
The clothes are all monochromatic, building up in color and many pieces have a way of unwrapping or can be altered. I have shoes that can unsnap and convert into boots and everything has a fold or loop that is mimicking the shape of the pattern.

Sydney was winner in the SAGA fur competition and had the opportunity to visit their Design Centre in Finland, where she learned creative techniques to work with fur. Below is one of the garments she created through that epxerience.

Sydney Seltzer is a graduate from the Fashion Design BFA program at Parsons The New School for Design and can be reached at: selts821 {at} newschool.edu

Nicole Ghosn

Nicole Ghosn is a fashion design graduate from the fashion design BFA program at Parsons. Her thesis is a crochet-based collection, titled:  “From mother to daughter.” Her collection reminded me of my grandmother's craftsmanship and it transported me right back to my own childhood. Nicole's inspiration came to her during a summer she spent in Northern Lebanon, where her family has its roots. Having grown up all over the world, in cities, with modern values she felt disconnected from her family’s roots and tradition. Nicole discovered the crochet table covers that had moved houses and countries with her family, and realized she had never really paid attention to them. Her mom told her how her grandmother and great grandmothers had made them by hand for their family and homes. This was a craft that had traditionally been taught from mother to daughter, and continued through generations, but it had skipped her.
So with this thesis collection NIcole decided to bridge the gap between generations and breathe new life to the crochet tradition that had been in her family for generations. She taught herself to crochet, inspired by the patterns of her ancestors, and used modern silhouettes that connected her forgotten heritage with her present.

Nicole was sponsored by the shoe polytechnic in Italy, and had the opportunity to visit the school and the factories outside of Venice this past January. They created 6 prototypes for her:  two designs, in three colorways each. The inspiration for these shoes is again her summer house in Northern Lebanon, specifically back in the early stages of its construction, and the scaffolding used. This first shoe has a stepped cantilever heel; and the second a shifted heel. The braided leather component adds texture to the upper of the shoe. The shoes are meant to anchor the looks, through their structure as well as the use of darker colors.

You can find out more about Nicole Ghosn at her website KnittyLittleThings.com

 

Parsons Fashion Design Thesis Show - Part II

Here is part two of the Parsons fashion design thesis show - graduating class of 2012.

Parsons Fashion Design Thesis Show - Part I

This is already old news as it happened last week and we all know how fast fashion trends come and go. But I think it is never too late to recognize the talent of the Parsons fashion graduates who have worked on their collections for a full year... blood, sweat and tears. And I swear I have seen it all and more. The Parsons Annual Gala Benefit show happened last night and I am enclosing some of my favorites in this post. In the next couple of weeks I'll feature some of my favorite collections as they happened through the thesis judging panels, but first here are some of my favorite shots from last night's benefit gala fashion show:

 

Red Shoes - Fashionable Technology

As much as I like creating projects within my new love, the Parson's design and technology program I love even more incorporating my love for fashion into the projects. This past weekend I participated in the Scrapyard Challlenge organized by Katherine Moriwaki and Jonah Brucker-Cohen. The task at hand is simple: create some kind of a switch, connect to two wires going into a computer rigged, output device making sounds. The challenge is to create something really creative and fun from scraps or recycled materials.

I chose to recycle an old pair of red high heels that have been collecting dust in my closet. I wrapped the heel and back side of the shoes in tin foil. That creates the surface for the switches. Then I run two cables through my pants to be connected to the foiled parts. That seemed to be the most fun part as my friends were helping me push and pull the cables.

Hereare the shoes with the foil before we get them connected to the wires.

We exposed the ends of the cables and placed them so they touch the foil on each shoe.

Then all we had to do is connect the other two ends of the wires to the computer.

And here is the final result with the shoes working as a switch! That's fashionable technology!

 

You can see other projects at ScrapyardChallenge.com

Lizette Avineri

Lizette Avineri just graduated from the Fashion Design program at Parsons The New School for Design. Her work is greatly influenced by nomadic, indigenous and ethnic cultures, and her thesis collection caught my eye with its colorful patterns and references to her heritage. Lizette Avineri’s F/W 2011 collection emphasizes delusions and obsessions with religiously-themed ideas through depictions of Jesus and the Virgin Mary, cathedral motifs, embroideries, and geometric patterns of Islamic and Bedouin traditions. Her creations embody the emotions underlying the Jerusalem Syndrome: a religious psychosis phenomena triggered by visiting Jerusalem. References to religious dress codes are called into question and purposefully skewed into actual textiles. Lizette created her own prints and accessories to tie the emotional world into complete looks that can be worn by anybody.

 All photos by Aneta Genova

For more info please visit Lizette's website at LizetteAvineri.com

Hugo Tsang

Photo by Hugo Tsang

This collection was one of my favorites this year. Hugo just graduated from the Fashion Design BFA program at Parsons The New School for Design and for his senior thesis he created a collection based on the square shape. He experimented with the patterns and created some really interesting silhouettes. His pieces are wearable and in some cases you don't even notice the unusual shapes until the movement of the garment reveals them. I like that he kept the palette simple and clean and concentrated on the patterns. The overall look of the collection is structured and yet has a feeling of ease.

Photos by Aneta Genova

Hugo took this idea a step further and expanded it into an unusual "hand" bag, which is worn ON the hand. Certainly a clever and fin idea to lighten the serious concept of the collection.

Photo by Hugo Tsang

For any inquiries you can contact Hugo at:
email : tsank913 {at} newschool {dot} edu
phone:912-224-6075

Sun Sun Thesis Collection 2011

Sun Sun just graduated from the Fashion Design program at Parsons. Her thesis collection revolves around the various frills and gathers formed by different lengths of elastic cords. She played with the difference between free form of frills and the strict nature of tailoring. Instead of just using them as decorative elements, she had them dictate the shape and silhouette of each garment.  Sun Sun never sketched her ideas, instead she started working closely with the form. Her color choices came into play from light to dark gray so the multiple layers of silk become more apparent.Here is Sun Sin presenting her thesis collection.

 

Project Lynus Quilts

I recently got introduced and contributed to a wonderful charity project called Project Lynus. In short Project Linus is comprised of hundreds of local chapters and thousands of volunteers across the United States. Each volunteer and local chapter all work together to provide warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill, or otherwise in need through the gifts of new, handmade blankets and afghans, lovingly created by volunteer "blanketeers." Students and faculty from the Parsons The New School for Design got involved and created numerous blankets. Everyone pitched in to help cut, sew, decorate and finish the quilt. I love the variety of patterns.

Some of the work was done in the class of Genevieve Jezick. They assembled a quilt in 6 hours. The pattern was planned in 8" pieces. Some students prepared their squares at home, but many worked in class the day the quilt was made. All of the hand embroidery was created in class.

And here is what their finished quilt looks like.

 

The students who worked on it signed up and attached to the inside a piece of muslin with all of their names!


Other students and fashion design faculty spent a day working on their own quilts from various fabrics. Here are a couple of their finished quilts.

Acupressure Jewelry by Bobae Moon

Bobae Moon just graduated from the Product Design program at Parsons. She took my Accessory Design class last year and I witnessed the beginning stages of this project, but the final results are amazing!

Project Qupre proposes a collection of jewelry that the wearer uses to perform acupressure. Acupressure is an Asian technique for clearing the natural flow of energy inside the body when this flow is blocked by physical or psychological conditions. This functional jewelry stimulates the acupressure points on hands and helps users directly take action on any symptoms of stressful city life. The rings are beautifully made and serve as an attractive and functional accessory you can use any time while looking stylish!

For questions or to order a ring Bobae at: bulbae {at} hotmail {dot} com