“That’s what I love about fashion; it’s free, it’s diverse, and it’s literally everywhere. You can easily be inspired by something that you see everywhere.”
Silvia C. (11), an ambitious designer with a passionate love for fashion, says, “I think designing is very free and liberating, and I feel like it can express how I feel or how I feel about certain things rather than using language, which can be hard for me because I’m a bit shy in class.”
Now an ILA Fashion club officer and designer for the annual TAS ILA Fashion Show, Silvia’s work all started through doodling in class in the seventh grade. She says, “I just remember starting to doodle in class and then starting to really design in eighth grade.” Her great uncle, who designed costumes for TV shows and plays, was a great inspiration to her.
Fashion can be very competitive behind the scenes. “I feel that the hardest part about fashion is that– sometimes people feel obligated to keep up with the trends and they always try to design collections that fall within the trend,” Silvia says, “but recently over the summer, I discovered that you don’t always have to follow the trends to be cool.” She aims to be distinctive and tries not to be swayed one way or another by what’s popular.
Instead, Silvia has a style that is very much her own. She describes her designing style to be more mature and dark. “My aesthetic is definitely black–I always use black– and I try to incorporate it with any other element that inspires me. For example, one of my collections involved my inspiration from stained glass, so I incorporated stained glass within a black dress or a black leather jacket.”
Inspiration can stem from just about anything, which is the fascinating part of the creative process. “There was this one photo that I was inspired by, and sometimes you can just be really inspired by a single photo and elaborate its ideas into your works and make it your own.”
Silvia’s dream is to get into design in college and to then pursue fashion as a career. Someday, her name might stand alongside some of her favorite designers Alon Livne, Balmain, or David Koma. Firstly, though, she hopes to share her passion with TAS. She has been working hard on her new collection since last spring, and it will be showcased at this year’s ILA Fashion Show.
There will be something for everyone at this year’s show. “It’s the perfect time to not only appreciate the arts and fashion, but maybe also to obtain your own inspirations,” she says.