Sydney Brown (left) gets advice on her collection from Assistant Professor Emily Law, who directs the fashion design section of FTD Emerging Designers. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\u201cShe's been really helpful with decision making,\u201d fashion design graduate Sydney Brown says about Assistant Professor Emily Law. \u201cWhen I start getting frazzled by all the options I have in front of me and overwhelmed by all the sketches I\u2019ve made, she's been so helpful in keeping me on track, keeping me focused and helping me pick the best option.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe definitely offers just a lot of guidance and knowledge,\u201d Richards says of Professor Traci Lamar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Below, take a closer look at the inspiration and processes behind just a few of this year's amazing collections. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Inspired by History<\/h3>\n\n\n\nLearning How to Fall | Sydney Brown <\/h4>\n\n\n\n Sydney Brown's maximalist, eclectic collection makes a statement about dressing first and foremost for yourself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"My inspiration for this collection is based around my memories as a kid of wanting to wear these elaborate or funky outfits and then getting worried about what people might say,\" she says. \"It's about being able to let go and not reducing the ideas I have for an outfit or a look.\" <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The collection features strong visual references to the Victorian era and other historical fashions. Brown says her job as an archivist at Raleigh Vintage has helped shape her unique point of view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"I get to look through a lot of runway shows from anywhere from the late '70s to early 2000s,\" she says. \"I've gotten to see online and also see in person a lot of really crazy stuff that I didn't think I'd ever get to see in person and analyze.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n\nBrown works on a corset that was incorporated into a look in the bottom right photo. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\"I've been able to push myself with the styling of the collection, and that's something that I'm interested in doing post-graduation,\" Brown says. Photo Courtesy: Amanda Law Photography. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\"I wanted it to be less rooted in a specific era and more rooted in my own point of view,\" she says. Photo Courtesy: Amanda Law Photography.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\nBlind Tiger + Bright Young Things | Cadee Gafford and Sloane Byrd<\/h4>\n\n\n\n Fashion designer Sloane Byrd and textile designer Cadee Gafford both took inspiration from the Roaring '20s for their Emerging Designers collections. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Blind Tiger is Cadee Gafford's interpretation of a modern speakeasy. Byrd's collection is named for the nickname given to young, wealthy London socialites in the 1920s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\nA photoshoot pairing the 1920s inspired collections designed by Sloane Byrd and Cadee Gafford brings both the textile and fashion designs to life. Photo Courtesy: Cadee Gafford. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\nPhoto Courtesy: Amanda Law Photography. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nPhoto Courtesy: Cadee Gafford. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\nDivine Opulence | Natalia Barnack<\/h4>\n\n\n\n Natalia Barnack's collection takes inspiration from the motifs, colors and maximalism of Baroque Era art and churches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"This collection goes beyond mere aesthetics, tapping into the emotive power of sacred art,\" she writes in her artist's statement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\nNatalia Barnack puts the finishing touches on a leotard for her collection. She adorned each look by hand. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\nPhoto Courtesy: Amanda Law Photography. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nPhoto Courtesy: Amanda Law Photography. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\nStorytelling through fashion<\/h3>\n\n\n\nThe Puppeteer's Workshop | Erika Norris <\/h4>\n\n\n\n Erika Norris plays the role of a seamstress working for \"an unstable, highly skilled puppeteer\" who sets beautiful but forgotten marionettes free in her collection \"The Puppeteer's Workshop.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She used luxury fabrics, hand sewing and fabric manipulation to show the decayed nature of these artisan toys that have been brought to life. Each model wore strings newly clipped to help the puppet escape and walked the runway with the gate of a marionette.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\"The Puppeteer's Workshop\" by Erika Norris. Photo Courtesy: Amanda Law Photography.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\"The Puppeteer's Workshop\" by Erika Norris. Photo Courtesy: Amanda Law Photography.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\"The Puppeteer's Workshop\" by Erika Norris. Photo Courtesy: Amanda Law Photography.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\nTragic Delights | Chiana Royal<\/h4>\n\n\n\n Ancient marriage rituals served as the point of departure for Chiana Royal's collection \"Tragic Delights.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"One that I found that's been prevalent throughout history in different cultures is that if two people died before they're able to be wed or a husband died in war and left a widow, then they could be married from beyond the grave,\" she says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This dark expression of everlasting love inspired Royal to create looks representing five characters that have each passed away: a groom, a bride, a priest, a flower girl and a ring bearer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"I think what I've learned most is that kind of embracing things that seem very challenging and very difficult or just like a pipe dream,\" she says. \"When you push past that fear, you'll end up doing it and you learn so much from that.\" <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\"Tragic Delights\" by Chiana Royal. Photo Courtesy: Amanda Law Photography.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\"Tragic Delights\" by Chiana Royal. Photo Courtesy: Amanda Law Photography.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\nFiber Art <\/h3>\n\n\n\nMemory Palace | Chase Woodson<\/h4>\n\n\n\n Chase Woodson's senior collection is a commentary on how memories are preserved and distorted through time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"Over the summer we had the clean up an old storage room that was full of boxes stuff of my grandmother's and stuff of my dad's and stuff from my childhood that I'd forgotten about,\" she says. \"It really just got me thinking about why those items have been stored so carefully and held onto throughout generations. What stories are hidden in these everyday objects that every family has in a box of things that they keep?\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These family artifacts and memories are intended to prompt conversations about memory rather than serving as a visual history, Woodson clarifies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"The abstraction is an important part of each of the pieces. I think since I'm working with such personal material, I didn't want it to become so much about the particular stories of my family,\" Woodson says. \"I wanted to ultimately create pieces that anyone could look at and kind of understand in some way.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\"I've tried to challenge myself by combining different methods in one piece, whether that's digital printing and weaving or two-card weaving and screen printing,\" Woodson says. Photo Courtesy: Amanda Law Photography.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\nPhoto Credit: Amanda Law Photography.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nPhoto Credit: Amanda Law Photography. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n