SEARCH3R is a runway capsule collaboration I co-created with Michelle Lesniak (winner of Project Runway, and Project Runway All Stars), and Cassie Ridgeway of Altar Houseline.
The "3" in SEARCH3R represents the 3 of us designers working together on the capsule collection, but also can be read as a backwards "E". Therefore, SEARCH3R, when spoken is pronounced "searcher".
Inspired by a longing to know our inner truth, but which is often forgotten. Our SEARCH3R has an Earthly lover, a grounding home. However, a calling emerges and she uncovers the true nature of her being. This rediscovered knowledge drives her to connect with her star family and return home to the sky above.
The light beam and circle above the brand name invoke the feeling of oneself being pulled upwards into a spaceship. The triangle symbolizes the three of us designers. The triangle and circle shapes repeat themselves throughout the garment print design in the collection.
Black, silver, denim, and pops of green define the collection's colors. The muted, but glam, palette allowed creative license to take the art and garment design to cosmic levels. The use of leather, rigid denim, metallics, and soft flow fabric give the clothing a laid-back space glamor vibe. 1970's glam rock musicians like David Bowie and Brian Eno were an inspiration.
Collectively, Michelle, Cassie, and I met many times over three months to exchange ideas, garment sketches, review fabrics, and finalize details. All of our garments were conceived, constructed, and made runway-ready by hand, by the three of us. We also did all of the runway makeup and created leather tassels to accessorize the model's outfits.
Almost every garment for the collection featured a custom illustration and was printed before the garment was sewn. I drew 15 original pieces of art for the show. Some personal favorites are shown below. All of the illustrations were customized to fit the garments we designed. I screen printed all the fabric before or during the process of garment construction. It was a massive project, with strict deadlines to meet for pre-show model fittings, dress rehearsals, and the debut runway show on opening night.
I used both Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator to clean up my art to prepare it for print. The runway collection allowed me a lot of creative liberty, so I challenged myself to create work that was outside of my usual style. I manipulated the illustrations and created a repetitive print design for bodysuits and enlarged many of my illustrations for extra-large prints. Additionally, each garment had specific print areas and all the prints had to fit the garment print area perfectly. This required a lot of planning and attention to detail, as well as virtually no room for error.
