A Creative Fashion Study: Back to School Reimagined
To broaden my design toolbox, I took two fashion design courses that challenged me creatively and technically. This final project resulted in a seven-look collection developed from early concept to finished sketches. It became a way to explore fashion as a new medium while still designing with intention, emotion, and structure.
Key Learnings
This project gave me the space to experiment, refine my visual language, and understand fashion through both emotion and technique. Throughout the process, I strengthened my ability to translate ideas into form and developed a clearer design identity.
- Finding and refining my own sketching style
- Building a stronger understanding of colour, texture, and material expression
- Designing from a feeling — letting mood and intention guide silhouettes
- Learning to analyse garments and trends with a more critical, structured eye
- Creating accurate technical and flat sketches that bridge concept and production
luxury fashion with an androgynous edge
For this project, I explored luxury fashion with an androgynous edge — blending masculine and feminine elements into pieces that feel expressive, modern, and wearable for all genders.
The imagined customer is between 50–70 years old, either returning to university or entering academic life for the first time. They live in a big city, value quality, and confidently wear bold, statement-driven pieces. Their clothing choices reflect curiosity, growth, and a sense of personal reinvention.
They are someone who:
- Lives in a metropolitan environment
- Invests in high-quality, long-lasting pieces
- Feels confident expressing themselves through bold silhouettes
- Values clothing that signals curiosity and personal evolution
- Is entering a new chapter in life and wants their style to reflect it
Building a foundation for the collection's aesthetic and attitude.
After analysing my fashion “family tree” and reflecting on what resonated with me — and what didn’t — I distilled the elements that felt most inspiring. These references shaped the direction, tone, and emotional core of the collection.
Christian Dior — Maria Grazia Chiuri
I was drawn to the mix of masculine and feminine shapes, expressive layering, and bold colour contrasts. This grounded my interest in androgynous silhouettes and textured, attitude-filled looks.
Roberto Cavalli — Fausto Puglisi
The fearless use of patterns and the blend of classic garments with modern styling stood out to me. It encouraged me to explore statement pieces, rich textures, and pattern play.
Thom Browne — Pre-Fall 2022
I loved the clean, structured silhouettes paired with playful motifs and accessories. This inspired me to combine simplicity with unexpected details and confident, straight-cut shapes.
Moodboard
These insights guided the creation of my moodboard — a visual expression of the feeling I wanted the collection to have: structured, playful, and androgynously luxurious.
Back to School — Reimagined
For this collection, I wanted to merge classic school-inspired garments with a high-fashion, androgynous sensibility. I worked with a single tartan pattern—scaling it in different widths to build depth and cohesion—and focused on straight, structured silhouettes that feel confident and timeless.
Schoolgirl uniforms are often sexualised in society, which shapes how they are perceived and used. To challenge that, I drew inspiration instead from schoolboy uniforms and combined them with the quiet strength of long, straight “older-lady” garments.
Although the collection is designed for all genders, I especially wanted women to feel powerful and comfortable wearing these pieces — a meaningful gesture considering that women have only had access to universities for about 150 years.
This history became a central influence, shaping the collection with a tone of strength, confidence, and presence.
Materials & Colors
I kept the palette tight to create a sense of unity—similar to the feeling of belonging you get in a school environment. Pearls and vegan leather details were added to elevate the look, bringing a subtle luxury and contrast to the structured shapes.
