SOUVENIR

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ANTWERPEN

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Graduation collection 2021

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Souvenir in French is “memory”. It helps you to remember your experiences. Personally, souvenirs can be any objects or facts that represent memories. A souvenir itself has a special value or can be a symbol of experience to every person. I enjoy the process of my journey because most of the time they are not predictable and I have to be flexible to fix the problems. I always learn and get inspired by my journey. It does not matter good or bad memories as long as they make you remember the moment of your trip! The main concept is to memorise my experience during my journey in Antwerp so I named this collection “SOUVENIR”. I also give it a Taiwanese name — 紀念品 to show my identity as a designer. 

 

Antwerp central station is not only my inspiration but also reminds me of my first day in Antwerp. This neoclassical style architecture was built with grey pink royal marble, rough brick stone, a roof with metal structure at the backside of the station, and the giant flower window on the ceiling. After that, I started researching for the way to transform the texture and colour of the station into garments.

 

SOUVENIR collection is to materialise my memory of Antwerp Central station by transforming the identity and texture of the station into wearable garments.

 

SOUVENIR collection is designed for spring and summer because I moved to Antwerp from March to September in 2020. The idea is to memorise the moment when I was in Antwerp. The silhouettes in SOUVENIR collection are based on what I wore during my journey in Antwerp. 

 

I am designing garments for people who are looking for high quality and long-lasting souvenirs during their trip, and they always love to share their memories to the public by wearing some fashion pieces. SOUVENIR collection is made for all genders because memories do not indicate any gender. I am creating a high-end collection, which is focusing on quality, materials, functionality of pockets, heritage and identity of Antwerp CS, and craftsmanship such as embroidery, rusty dyeing, marbling dyeing, sublimation printing, and stone printing. I used 100% cotton and linen to make garments light weight and breathable in the summer. I designed the relaxed fit, dropped shoulder, lower arm holes to create more volume for the comfortability during the trip. I used the shape of architecture as the pattern to create new silhouettes. The colour palette is based on Antwerp central station such as stone grey, pink marble, and rusty colour from the metal construction, which indicates to the research question “How to transform the texture and identity of the architecture into wearable garments?”