Knitwear
An apparel collection that explores the history of Witches.
For much of my life, I have been fascinated with history, particularly how over time narratives and perspectives change. That’s why I find the evolution of the archetypal witch to be so interesting. How in the early modern age women accused of witchcraft were persecuted, hung, and burned; whereas today, witches like Hermoine Granger from Harry Potter and Kiki from Kiki’s Delivery Service have emerged as role models and fictional feminists heroines. For My degree project at the Rhode Island School of Design, I created a series of six costumes that reflect my thoughts on witches and their history.
My fascination with this topic comes from how it speaks to the larger issue of women’s rights. The way we fictionalize witches over time is in direct correlation with the increase in women’s rights. In my garments, I have illustrated this concept by using iconography from the time witches were persecuted juxtaposed against imagery that speaks towards the reclamation of that identity.
Images Above from Movies: Harry Potter, Kiki's Delivery Service, The Love Witch, and The Wizard of Oz., Paintings by Goya (for the exception of images taken from the early modern age)
Behind the Scenes
From creating the fabrics on a double bed knitting machine to seaming the garments together I made these looks from start to finish. I spent long hours in the RISD dye lab experimenting with dyeing and felting processes to give the fabrics interesting colors, textures, and patterns.
