Jacquard suit with matching bag
Watercolor blouse with pussybow, colorblock sweatervest and wide pants with side pockets
Crochet top and blue pleated high-waist trousers
Lace two piece with flared trousers
Knitted sweater in green tones and blue pleated high-waist trousers
Oversized knitted sweater and wide trousers with side pockets
Knitted halter top and blue pleated high-waist pants
Two piece with bustier top and wide-leg pants from a second-hand tablecloth
Blue satin dress with cowl neck and asymmetric hem line
Tweed skirt suit and sleeveless blouse with pussybow and cut-out
I created this collection mostly during the first national lockdown when the pandemic started. With school changing to a part-time online schedule, I suddenly found myself having a lot of spare time. In the search for something to stay busy with, to distract myself from the chaos going on in the rest of the world, I picked up a pair of knitting needles. I learned to knit when I was around ten years old, but never really made anything memorable at that time. Eight years later, I made my first sweater, the green one shown above. It was like a starting gun had given me a signal because it didn't stop there.
I made another sweater and three more tops all from the comfort of the chair behind my desk, legs kicked up and online class playing in the background. On the "first" day of school, somewhere in May 2020, I wore the first pair of trousers I ever made, the blue ones. It was with all of the compliments I received I finally decided to do something in the fashion department in my future.
With that in mind, I started building my portfolio. All of my spare time went into second-hand shopping for fabric, searching the attic for yarn and browsing through vintage fashion magazines my mum had kept.
After successfully finishing my first sewn piece of clothing (asymmetric skirts I made when I was ten not included), I went to my local fabric and haberdashery shop. When the lady had asked me what my next project was going to be and I told her about my upcoming graduation, for which I still needed an outfit, she gave me a look of despair and wished me a lot of luck.
Three weeks later, I graduated high school, with more than a diploma, with a purpose for my future as well. If someone would have told me at the beginning of that school year, that I would be finishing off my high school trajectory in a suit that I made with my own hands, I would have sworn they were lying to me. But yet here I am with a newfound passion that seemed to be wanting to come out for a long time now.
If it wouldn't have been for the pandemic, I would probably be studying sociology right now. I have a lot to thank for that pandemic. Even though it was a very hard period in my life mentally and socially, fashion was there to lift me up and to give me a reason to keep on going. There's no better feeling than finishing a design and fitting it for the first time. There's no brighter smile than the one you bring to someone's face when you made them something, initials embroidered on the side.
I want to keep on bringing those smiles to the world for the rest of my days.
