KC Winter

Beginning her second year in the Fashion, Body and Garment program this fall, KC Winter came to SAIC from Columbia College’s Fashion Design program. Inspired by the lack of boundaries and a conceptualization of fashion beyond the garment, she entered the Fashion, Body, and Garment program hoping to round out her commercial undergraduate education with a study in fashion that removed it from consumer ideals. Her work has been most recently seen in the Sharp Building’s Boomerang Space at 37 S. Wabash.

Amanda Aldinger: Can you talk a bit about the program and how it’s differed from other fashion studies you’ve had?

KC Winter: It’s greatly different from what I had in undergrad. I went to Columbia College and got my BFA in Fashion Design there, and we were focused much more on the commercial aspect of fashion design. How to produce garments that would sell in mid-markets, and this is the complete opposite of that, which is what I was looking for in a Master’s program.

AA: Are you looking to get into high concept design? Or do you see it more as something to supplement your commercial skills?

KC: I think a little bit of both. I was trying to round out my education with going from one extreme to the other. Knowing that I have both the commercial skills — the technical skills to sew a garment and put it together — as well, now I can sort of focus on the conceptual aspect, which is what my portfolio was lacking previously. I think it opens a lot of gates where I can do all these crazy things, and I’ve been trying to focus on merging technologies and how I can incorporate that into the work. I can always go as far out as possible at school, and then after graduation when I’m trying to find a job, or even just in my own work, I can always scale that back as much as I need to.

AA: The way that this particular program at SAIC is structured, what do you think it says about fashion?

KC: I think, especially with Nick Cave as our department chair, it lets us break free from the notion that we have to make garments — I think that’s what the undergrads kind of get stuck in. That they have to make something that a model has to wear down a runway, whereas in this department, we’re really free of that. Some students are making actual garments to be worn, in various degrees of certain practicality, and at the other extreme, whereas myself and a few other students, we’re just doing pieces based off a body, but completely removed from that you don’t necessarily notice the body itself at all.

AA: What does this approach to studying fashion say about the body?

KC: I think conceptual fashion design pieces sort of throw away the whole commercial aspect entirely. They’re not focused — when you take away the fact that you won’t be making any money with this, that that’s not your intention at all, it kind of allows you to go off and do as much as possible. You’re not limited by concerns of 'will the customer want to buy this?' or 'will it be accepted in market?' You just make.

AA: When you graduate, are you wanting to get into fashion design, or are you more of a fine artist?

KC: I think I’ve had enough of a footing in design that I want to stay in that realm, but I think I’d really like to work at a company doing research and design, or research and development. I find that really exciting.

AA: How do you see this program as helping to prepare people who want to get into fashion design?

KC: To decide to go to a Master’s program in fashion, especially with the influx of Project Runway and all that, you really have to be serious about it. Versus just wanting to get a degree because you’ve got the quintessential passion for fashion. It’s a totally different person who’s going that next step to invest years and money.

AA: What would say is the fundamental difference between the undergrad and grad Fashion Design programs at SAIC, considering that both focus on conceptual fashion?

KC: I would say that the undergrad program is definitely driven by the end of the year runway show competition — especially the juniors and seniors, who really feel that that’s the pinnacle of their education. Whereas for us, a graduating show isn’t necessarily the culmination of our education, we’re sort of at that pace the whole time, instead of building up to that one final point.

AA: It’s less competitive?

KC: To a certain degree. From what I’ve observed in the undergrads, they can be cutthroat with each other, and there are competitions and awards offered to them. Whereas for us, we’re sort of on an equal level with each other. One other difference is that they’re still trying to teach the undergrads technical skills, but we’re coming in as graduates with the faculty assuming that we know how to pattern a garment, how to sew a garment.

AA: So it’s expected that you have your technical skills in place before you enter the program?

KC: To some extent. We have students from varying backgrounds in my current year, which graduates next year, whereas myself and another student who came from RISD [Rhode Island School of Design] have a very technical background — there’s a student who went to school for Fine Arts. So she might know more about dying fabric or manipulations, but her sewing skills aren’t they great. There’s room in the curriculum, if you’re really skilled in a certain area technically, where you can focus on that. To round out what you might not know at the time.

AA: In what ways do you feel like the program has challenged you the most?

KC: The conceptual part entirely. Having been ingrained in being so commercial, it took a good semester to let that go, and I realized that I could explore more of my work than what I had been limited to before.

Justin LeBlanc

When Justin LeBlanc won a fashion design competition as an architecture student at North Carolina State, he began to think about a potential convergence for the two disciplines in his own work. Coming to SAIC first for the post-baccalaureate Fashion, Body and Garment program, only to continue on to the graduate program, where he just finished his first year, his work incorporates the structural elements of architectural design with an influence based in the body. Two fun facts: plexiglass is his material of choice, and he might just be the world’s next big furniture designer.

Amanda Aldinger: So what brought you to this program?

Justin LeBlanc: My background is in architecture, and I decided to come here and pursue fashion. For me, fashion and architecture are very similar, because it’s all about structure and how you can provide protection for the body. For the Master’s program, I started to look into altered states, and how people see things differently. How they respond to things differently, and by doing that — I was born deaf, so I hear differently than other people.

AA: Does that play a part in what you design?

JL: Yes — a major part. I’m a very visual person so I tend to depend on what I see in order to understand people, and everything else. For this program, they try to get us to separate from the body and apply that to the space, but to still have the body with the space.

AA: As a designer, how do you engage both?

JL For me, it’s more of a process that I went through. When I was 18 I got my cochlear implant, and that was the first time I heard anything. It’s been six years now since I’ve gained hearing, and this is my response to that. It’s more of like an invasion into my body and something that is unknown to me. That’s how I interpret this room [see: photo, bottom right]. The object that you see is pretty much invading the space, and at the same time, it’s invading people’s territories. They’re unaware of what’s going on, but it’s taking over pretty much. That was the direction I was going in with this project, and I just focused on soundwave and different elements — it’s hard for me to explain because the way I hear things is different from what people hear, and I only hear on one side, so therefore everything is 2D. I don’t have any depth to it, so everything I hear is pretty flat, while most people have depth to the sound. I was just playing with that idea in this project.

AA: What made you decide after architecture to incorporate fashion into your work?

JL: When I was doing my undergrad in architecture, I went to North Carolina State University. We had an event called “Art to Wear” and it’s pretty much fashion and art, and I decided to enter into the competition by working with plexiglass, which is my thing, and I ended up winning the competition against all the fashion students. So I thought, maybe I just should be in this field. I like working in fashion because it’s very tangible. You can work with your hands. With architecture you can do the same thing, but at some point it has to get to a scale and you can’t interact with it anymore. I like the personal touch that fashion provides.

AA: I’m interested in this particular program and how it interprets fashion so differently. What’s your favorite part about the program?

JL: The challenge, definitely. When I first came to this program I didn’t realize what I was getting myself into. But at the same time, it definitely pushed the boundaries of how I perceive things in fashion. And what I like about it is that whatever you do in this program can be translated back into fashion. No matter how extreme you go, or off the subject it may be. That’s how I see everything I do. It allows me to be more creative.

AA: I know you guys are given a lot of freedom. What would you say is the primary foundation of the program — the core of what it’s based on?

JL: Yourself. To trust your instinct. They can throw anything at you in this program. For the longest time I didn’t know where I was going, so I just had to go back to myself and what I want from this program. I think that’s the foundation.

AA: What do you see yourself doing now that you have this experience and degree?

JL: This provided some support for me potentially going back into architecture. Because when I was in architecture I had to think inside the box, and everything had order and instruction and a guideline I had to follow. And coming here is about breaking all the rules. I think that will inform what I will do when I graduate. I’m not sure what, but it definitely will be a combination of architecture and fashion, I hope.

AA: Now that you have one year under your belt, what are you most looking forward to about your work next year?

JL: I think I’m just going to change everything up again. This time I will — I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately, and I definitely want to go back to the body, but focusing on abstract design, where it can be applied to the body or to architecture. I’m actually trying to make the fields of architecture and fashion closer together. So there’s a chance that I may go into furniture design. Because I like the idea of fabric manipulation, but at the same time I want to maintain the structure, and I do see that area as being very similar because you interact with people’s bodies, but you still have the architectural element.

Aaron Zarychta

Aaron Zarychta also eased his way into the Fashion, Body and Garment graduate program by getting his post-bac certificate first, citing his recent graduation with his Master’s as “the most intense thing [he's] ever been through.” Although his time at the School led him to conclude that he’s not a fashion designer, the program allowed him to use fashion as an artistic medium, stretching boundaries and ultimately creating work that he was justifiably proud of.

Amanda Aldinger: What brought you to this program?

Aaron Zarychta: Actually, I did the post-bac program before the graduate program for a year, and then I applied for the graduate program. Going through post-bac, the first year graduate program and the post-bac program shared the same room, so I was able to see how that worked and I ended up applying to the graduate program. I didn’t want to start over again, and I appreciated watching the instructors for the program — one comes from a more artistic background and one is purely design. So you have both of those sensibilities coming at you and you have to find yourself between those two, which is really nice.

AA: In what ways does the program challenge you?

AZ: The instructors really push you in either direction. Trying to find your voice between those two, and standing up for what you think and rejecting them if they don’t agree with it, because they’re both pretty strong personalities. Also, the level and quality of the work that they expect from us has been difficult to deal with at times. It’s definitely the most intense thing I’ve ever been through. Now that I’ve been done for a month and a half, being able to look back and reflect on it, I can say, 'oh yeah, that helped a lot.' Now I know that I’m not either one of them. I am my own person and I know the direction I want to go in.

AA: How did the program influence or change, if it did, your conception of fashion and fashion design?

AZ: It took me almost the entire two years to realize that I am not a fashion designer. I like approaching fashion, if the project calls for it, and I think of it more as a medium. I say this for some of my classmates and teachers who are really interested in fashion and that’s what they want to do for their life. They collect this knowledge about designers — I like producing the work. I’m not interested in collecting that textbook knowledge, or to be able to say, 'yes this designer did this in that collection this season,' I’m more interested in using it as a medium if the concept that I’m working on calls for it. This past semester I started out doing a collection based on a concept that spilled over from the first semester. I worked on it for a month and a half, two months, and it wasn’t working and I wasn’t feeling it that much. And then we were all required to put up an installation in the showcase for about a week each, and I literally fell apart right before the Saturday, trying to figure out what I was going to do. Everything that I’d built up to put in there fell apart on Friday — I was in tears, catatonic, laying down on my floor. Saturday I picked myself up, I talked to Conrad for an hour and he gave me some suggestions and I spent the entire two and a half days on the showcase, with a two hour nap at some point, and it was the most successful thing I’ve done all year. I had to reevaluate what I was doing with the garment collection and realize that that was not the medium I should be working in.

AA: How has this program influenced what you will do now that you’ve graduated?

AZ: Even just looking at how my instructors work in their daily lives, they all have day time jobs where they sustain their artistic practice. I’ve been trying to figure out how I’m going to do that, sort of using them as a model. I know I can’t be a teacher. I have a hard enough time explaining my own process to people. When I’ve gone into critiques before it’s been difficult for me to explain to them what I do. They understand, because they see it, but I know that I could never be a teacher. One of the jobs I have at school has been setting up the showcase every couple of weeks for the last year and a half. I’ve really enjoyed doing that, and it’s also been part of my educational process because I’ve started doing installations in my own work, so I’ve been talking with my instructors about doing gallery assistant work, and then in the evening I’d work on my own work.

AA: In looking back on your work and your time in the program, what was the greatest challenge you faced?

AZ: I definitely approach a lot of my work from more formal qualities, and [my instructors are] always pushing more emotional. They’ve pushed personal stories, and there’s definitely a sense of that, but maybe not to the level they want. It’s been a challenge for me to show them that there is value in how I approach it and what my process is. Speaking in terms of process, the department definitely has — in terms of fashion design — they have a very strict order for how they like to do things. And when I have approached fashion design, it’s definitely been out of the order that they’re used to. I’ve had to fight with them about my own process and why it works best.

AA: Do you have any final thoughts about the program, why it’s a unique experience and what sets it apart from other fashion design programs?

AZ: Watching the type of students that they accept into the program, I’m always kind of confused about the process in which they accept them, because we’re all so different from each other. But that experience has been really rewarding, because they kind of push us to compete against each other, but since we’re so different from each other I think they get kind of frustrated because we don’t compete with each other. There’s no reason to because we’re approaching it so differently. There are some [students] approaching it from fashion design, some approaching it from performance, some approaching it from installation, some approaching it from a purely artistic standpoint. That has been a really rewarding experience. Before going through that, I didn’t know if there was any focus to the students that they accept, but now I see that they want the variety to push the students in different directions. In some ways we really challenge each other, but it’s not in a competitive way. It’s more “see what this person’s doing, oh that’s really interesting, maybe there’s some value in that, maybe I should try that in my own process.”