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EXPERIENCE
EMILY FERNANDEZ BIRCHWOOD DESIGN
ABOUT ME
I am a recent knitwear design graduate from Winchester School of Art. Travelling is the key to my inspiration. My work always has an emphasis on textures and the body, using neutral and earthy tones. My designs have a strong focus on being environmentally conscious and a sustainable designer. I am always trying to recycle and reuse yarns and always on the look out for eco-friendly yarns to use within my collections.
I have an aim to empower the wearer of my clothes and bring comfort and style to their wardrobes. I have a desire to empower individuals and embrace diversity and all body types.
BEAUTY BEYOND THE SKIN
Final Major Project Multi-Seasonal 2020
Surrounded by a society which is obsessed with image and appearance, the pressure on oneself to look ‘perfect’ is grand. But here’s the thing, there is no such thing as ‘perfect’. The prefect body doesn’t exist; no matter what society teaches us. Bit by bit we start to see more body positivity and diversity around us. Following on from Pre-Collection I decided to explore Body dysmorphia further and concentrate on creating a collection which is made for all body types with oversized garments, alongside tighter and delicate ones. Body dysmorphia is all about being obsessed with your body and seeing yourself maybe bigger or skinnier than what you actually are.
As a designer I aim to embrace the feminine figure and make the individual feel empowered in their own skin within the clothing they wear. Body empowerment is growing; therefore, it inspires me to look for different textures which resembles all the different types of coatings and shapes that the body holds. Each piece in my collection is very different to the other, but yet they all work together in a successful way, and that’s what I want for people to see. Using a wide variety of techniques and weights of yarns that demonstrate the contrast of bodies and skin textures which we hold. I made this collection look ‘pretty’ and appealing; as that is the way I look at suffers with body dysmorphia. I want to show that we should stop obsessing over the body and start to look beyond the mirror, start to see what lies underneath. Embraces the folds, bump and lumps. the fashion industry desperately needs a change; hence why I made this collection multi seasonal and used recycled yarns from previous projects alongside sustainable ones too. We need to slow down the production of garments, therefore a collection with clothing that can be worn in different seasons may just do that. With a delicate sheer dress suitable for the summer layered with a thick cosy jacket to keep warm throughout the colder days, this collection can be used all year round and feeling great and beautiful in your skin. It is time to embrace the saying “Beauty is beyond skin deep”.
"Everything has beauty in it, but not everyone sees it"
-Confucius
IT'S ALL IN YOUR MIND
Pre-collection 2020
The main concept behind this project is to show and experiment the meaning as well as what a the mind of a person see's when they sufferer of body dysmorphia. this disorder is all about seeing a body in a completely different manner as to what they actually look like. Their brains are creating a different body to the one the inhabit.
This is a collection which embraces the struggles of this disorder; aiming to show how you perceive yourself may not always be correct and how we can be blinded and taken in by our own self-criticism.
"If you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life."