Designer Confidential: Wearable Art

Designer Confidential highlights the work of SU's greatest fashion asset: its student designers.

One of the greatest sources of inspiration for fashion designers is the past. Both Louis Vuitton and Prada’s fall 2010 collections heavily referenced the 1950s, while Marc Jacob’s Spring 2011 line paid homage to the ‘70s. However you won’t see anything this recent in Melissa Sack’s collections. “People are always doing the ‘60s or the ‘80s, and I say, ‘Yeah, but that’s come, gone, and come back again’” says the sophomore fashion design major. Instead, Sack draws her inspiration from ancient times: “I love to travel, and last December I went to Italy. I was really inspired by the Renaissance art period, and that’s reflecting in my work this year.”

Sack knows exactly where she wants her career to go: “A lot of people want to work for someone else and do wearable clothes, which is great, but if I could, I don’t want to be stuck working for someone for the rest of my life. I want to do my own thing and create my own designs. I have a lot of passion and I know exactly what I want. Everyone’s always like ‘How do you know what you want?’ and I say ‘I’ve known since high school. That’s not gonna change.”

But Sack has bigger dreams than just owning her own line: “I want to [make] wearable art, not pieces that you see and can be worn [in] everyday [life]. They would be very crazy couture, very Lady Gaga-esque. I would almost rather do gallery exhibits than runway shows.” Plus, she’s very hands-on with her designs: “I still want to be the one sewing. A lot of designers don’t even draw anymore.”

Dream Job: To own a fashion corporation, like Alexander McQueen or Marc Jacobs, working under the title of experimental artist rather than fashion designer.

Why you should look out for her: Her designs aren’t something you’ll see just anywhere. She describes them as “wearable art” and pictures herself designing duds for Lady Gaga or Rihanna.

Designer Confidential: When she's not at school, she spends her time working at her parent’s jewelry shop. Being around so much bijoux has both inspired her garment designs and given her an idea of how she'd like to style her model's jewelry for upcoming shows. Plus “it’s fun to play with the diamonds.”

- Julie Kosin