THE LOST LILY

Inspired by the lakes surrounding my hometown, I always find myself in good company with the Lily Pad. Taking inspiration from its shape and flatted vol- ume, I explore the relationship between symmetry in nature. By analyzing the design complexities of Edith Head’s costuming for The Jungle Princess, I took notice of the lack of Lily Pad motifs within the character’s stylised dress. I aspire to rework costumes from the film by accentuating the femininity of the Lily Pad and by emphasizing the structure of the safari suit. By isolating the Lily Pad as a symbol of unity, wholeness, and fulfillment, I intend to contrast the shape of the Lily Pad into a characterization of the uniform dress. Crossing workwear with the wild, I anticipate to blend functionality, beauty, and ele- gance into my final piece.

MODELED BY GRACE BROSNAN

THE DRESS UP DRESS SHIRT

For my Inhabited Abstractions project titled “Dress Up Dress Shirt ‘’ I explore the foundations of the Balenciaga we know today versus Cristobal’s Balenciaga. The commercialized world of gimmicks in fashion has swallowed the Balenciaga brand under Demna’s creative control, maculating the woman by adopting harsh brutalist hype-beast tactics to define their version of femininity. Through my research, I critique the modern Balenciaga by creating a feminized version of the oversized silhouette to high- light my own personal experiences of being a woman and experimenting with adornment in my grandmother’s and mother’s closets. Reminiscing on my childhood, nothing felt more girl than playing dress up. My project draws parallels between how my inner child still shines within the light of my maturity, through the spirit of “dressing up”. Within my design process, I wanted to imitate the proportions of a child wearing their mothers clothes by exaggerating the size of the western dress shirt into a dress. This piece symbolizes how as a woman, fashion is a part of my expression and sense of femininity, I pay homage to these de- tails through laser engraving embroideries and embellishments. I intend to bring a youthful and personable silhouette to this garment as I explore the femininity of my nostalgia and how that same femininity carries on true with me today.

MODELED BY EDEN BROZOVICH

BUILT IN BUSINESS

Taking inspiration from the 1940s bullet bra, I vow to recontextualize womens workwear by integrating the funnel shaped structure of the bra into the construction of my final garment. My design will be adjustable, fluid, and feminine to emphasize that women should not shield their grace in order to be taken as seriously as men. Through my research surrounding the chemise blanche, I digests how sleep/underwear garments utilize trimmings and embellishments to accentuate adornment despite being worn in the privacy of the wearer. This to me embodies femininity the most, feeling beautiful and looking beautiful without warrant. In my project, I will bring the silhouette of the underwear outside of the body and onto the wearer, as a symbol of resilience and strength. Looking to the past to reimagine the future, I will pay homage to the 1940s “Sweater Girls” who coined initial popularity for the bra and other famous celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe who continued to normalize the unconventional shape in bust through everyday dress.

MODELED BY LETICIA COTECCHIA

THE YELLOW ROSE OF TEXAS

The Von Erichs were a professional wrestling family from a small town in Texas. The family patriarch and father Fritz Von Erich taught his boys to wrestle from the young age of six. They carry on the family legacy as Fritz himself wrestled but never won the World Heavyweight Championship. As Blood was thicker than water, the five Von Erich sons dedicated themselves to fighting just like their father. The brothers loved wrestling but more importantly wanted to make their father proud, following in Fritz’s footsteps, the Von Erich brother’s David, Kerry, and Kevin were dubbed international heavyweight champions. Despite their perseverance, the Von Erichs faced immense tragedy in and out of the ring. The firstborn son, Jack Jr, was electrocuted at the age of six due to a household accident. In 1984, the eldest son, David Von Erich died sporadically due to an unconfirmed drug overdose the night before his championship fight in Japan. Mike, Chris, and Kerry committed suicide in 1987, 1991, and 1993. Mike died after taking an overdose of sleeping pills and drowning them with alcohol. Chris shot himself in the head with a handgun behind his parents house in East Tex- as. Kerry shot himself in the chest behind his father’s house. Kevin is the last standing Von Erich of the family as his mother and father, Fritz and Doris died in Hawaii in 2025. Through the hardship, rivalry, and despair the brother’s stayed together and continued to wrestle amongst the pain and grief.

Taking note from aspirational blood bounded brothers, I would like to highlight the triumphs and tragedies of the world famous Von Erichs family through a tribute piece dedicated to the yellow rose of Texas. Within my research the symbol of the yellow rose was prominent within the Von Erich story, before every match the brothers would throw a yellow rose into the crowd, and fol- lowing their winnings they would be adorned with a bouquet of yellow roses. These roses would follow them to their deaths, as their caskets were put to rest six feet under ground covered in yellow roses. The Yellow Rose of Texas, which was a signifier of the deaths in their family as well as their winnings in the ring was profoundly moving to me as the brothers’ unforgiving love one another kept them bound til death. I long for this myself as I am extremely disconnected from my family in regards to my dream of becoming a designer. I admire their family and the faith they held in each other’s success, as I am still struggling to convince my family that I am on the right path. My final look will pay homage to the Von Erichs through a bright yellow rose sleeve draping as well as developing my own print inspired by the yellow rose.I intend to curate my own vinyl cutting details that mimic the uniforms of the Von Erichs alongside curating a one of a kind look that encapsulates the Von Erich spirit of these cocky, brilliant, strong willed brothers.