Drawn Out

Created with Illustrator and Photoshop

A collection incorporating calado, inspired by the silhouettes of traditional Filipiniana attire as both a celebration of my heritage and an acknowledgment of the hurt that my ancestors had to endure in order for me to come to this point.

Calado is a Philippine whitework/openwork technique that originated during the era of Spanish colonialism in the 16th century. The craft emerged due to nuns of the Franciscan order teaching Spanish needlework (with whitework and drawn thread embroidery being popular at the time) to colonized indigenous Philippine women and girls during the 16th century, purportedly so they could have something to do while the men of their families fished and farmed.

As I read more about both the colonial origins and drawn thread techniques of calado, the act of removing threads from a fabric felt to me like undoing patterns ingrained into us by trauma—whether generational or personal—that are harmful and only serve to perpetuate the cycle. Only when we learn to re-contextualize the threads that remain can we grow and create something entirely new, beautiful, and constructive out of them.

Le Petit Mort

Created with Illustrator and Photoshop

A collection based on the short film Venus by Jamie Steele Griffiths, which follows a woman named Vena who meets Venus, the goddess of love, in a dream, and from then is inspired to confess her feelings for her friend Ana.

When Vena questions Venus about whether or not she truly is the embodiment of love, Venus notably responds “I control desire, emotional desire, yes. And also the desire that the smallest parts of you have to drift apart. I control Love but I am called Death.” This immediately brought to mind the “le petit mort” (the little death) euphemism, a direct result of the gnawing, sometimes inexplicable, sometimes irrational, sometimes violent desire that humans have to drift outside of themselves and be a part of something more, something larger, to feel more whole.

Throughout the film also, the line between dream and hallucination is muddied by its unique visual style reminiscent of psychedelia, which is theorized to be experienced by humans before and during death.

All this said, Le Petit Mort seeks to explore the psychedelic potential surrounding human desire, the boundaries between “self” and “other”, and the metaphorical death of oneself often needed to dissolve said boundaries.

Vroom Vroom Jacket

Created with Illustrator and Photoshop

Idea for Charli XCX merchandise inspired by the pop star's love for cars and going fast.

Meadow-A-Go-Go

Created with Illustrator

Collection created in response to WGSN's Disco Prairie trend forecast for the SS26 season.