Maryam Alsaei

BA (Hons) Fashion Design Technology (Womenswear) 2020

Originally from Bahrain, moving to Manchester to pursue a bachelor's degree in Fashion Design and Technology. Building an impressive CV including internships at Old Navy (Gap inc. USA), Eudon Choi and JW Anderson, London. My aesthetic focuses on feminine silhouettes with an emphasis on tailoring.

The collection takes inspiration from artist John Chamberlain whose sculptures are among the most iconic artworks of the post-war period. John Chamberlain creates sculptures by crushing discarded car parts and bringing the Abstract Expressionist style of painting into three dimensional shapes. The collection echoes the effortlessness of Chamberlain’s sculptures and takes its name ELISUS from the Latin word for crushed.

Zig-zag stitches were as part of a draping technique, where garments were deconstructed and re-configured to create the crushed textures. The final garments are fluidly tailored, and appear to extend away from the body, becoming sculptural in their own right. The focus is form over body. Fashion is sculpture in living form.