Designer Confidential highlights the work of SU's greatest fashion asset: its student designers.
Junior Gareth Brown doesn’t have to travel far to get her work done. This year, the fashion design major has had the good fortune of scoring a house with enough space to set up a studio that she shares with her housemate, a fellow fashion major. The duos’ swoon-worthy space contains all the essential studio accoutrements and more. The brick walls of the room are lined with glossy, fashion books, a mannequin in the corner stands poised to display the girls’ latest designs and a sewing machine sits on a small wooden table, ready to stitch together masterpieces. Below a mood board covered expanse of wall sits a set of shelves filled with boxes of salvaged fabrics.
While working on her 3 piece Geoffrey Beene inspired collection, Brown finally had the chance to dip into this massive stash of vintage fabric remnants. “I was excited to use [the] fabric my mom and I have accumulated over the years,” says Brown. The look of Geoffrey Beene is evoked in Brown’s use of circular geometric construction; inspired by Beene’s own triangular construction technique. “I really like geometric [shapes] in general...” she explains.
Brown is also a fan of mixing vibrant, patterned fabrics with tweeds. Her latest collection fittingly features a variety of unique colors and prints. Her skirt for example features floral patterned sheen polyester and subtle taupe colored cotton, which together, encircle a luxurious navy velvet yolk. The skirt is finished off with a burnt orange lining that adds a tone of warmth to the skirt and the whole thing will be paired with a simple, solid colored top.
Brown further displays her finesse for intricate design in the construction of her outer garment, a unique jacket-cape hybrid. The two outerwear elements are connected via a panel tastefully stitched to the back of the jacket at the top. Brown plays again with patterned wools, this time mixing navy and taupe colored micro check wools with plain wools in the same color scheme. “I never design things that I wouldn’t personally wear,” says Brown. “I think that this [collection] is designed for a younger set of people but the cape is ageless.”
The design of her final piece, a dress, will keep with the circular construction of her skirt and match the shape of the yolk.
“I think I design for people who have an appreciation for something different and [are] attract[ed] to detail,” Brown says.
This past summer, Brown interned in the womenswear department of Lauren Brand a knitwear design company. There, Brown picked up tricks and tackled projects that she says she never would have done in school, including creating stripe layouts and adjusting flats.
“...I was... doing [more than] minimal work. I was a...part of the design team,” she says.
She also interned for Jill Stuart’s FW 2009/10 show, where she observed “...the process of Fashion Week and getting started.” She watched the whole season unfold, from the design conception, to the seemingly endless revisions, to the final product. She feels privileged to have been able to attend the final Fashion Week held at Bryant Park.
Brown says one of her greatest personal design accomplishments occurred early on in her design education. After successfully sewing her junior prom dress, which had “a million pleats,” Brown went on to design both her senior prom dress and her friend’s senior prom dress. For the first time she had to work with another person, and fit her designs to a client’s needs. Brown says this solidified her desire to work in the fashion industry.
“It made [fashion] less shallow to me. [My friend] was so happy and appreciative and I realized [that fashion could inspire] confidence,” she says.
It’s a good thing, too, that Brown decided to stick with this industry, since now those boxes of fabrics that she has saved with her mother over the years can be put to good use.
Her Dream Job: Brown wants to own her own design business rather than designing for someone else. “I wouldn’t want to have to stay true to a brand for the rest of my life,” she says. She is also interested in eco-fashion, specifically; finding new ways of producing fabrics out of wood pulp, recycled wool, and turning old clothes into fresh new pieces. While most designers rely heavily on referencing archived looks and historical costume, Brown hopes to make her own history.
Why you should look out for her: “Hard work is the most important thing to me, and if you work hard at something you love I think that you can take your passion as far as you want to go with it [and be successful],” Brown says.
Her Designer Confidential: The floral fabric she is using for her skirt originally belonged to her grandmother. These fabrics passed down to her make her looks all the more authentically vintage. Her designs are very personal to her, as they are also a part of her family history.
-Amanda Michelson
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