Dawson is a designer originally from Las Vegas, Nevada who came to SAIC to study drawing and painting. He quickly recognized his interest in textiles through the fiber and material studies department which eventually led him to fashion. With fashion it became all about sculptural garments with a focus on the technical aspects of his practice such as patternmaking and construction. This sculptural fashion practice comes from an interest in clothes being a form of architecture around the body giving many of his garments a strong static feeling, while comparing those to more playful structures that emphasize movement. As a proud member of the LGBT+ community, he also focuses on themes which portray a queer culture.
Okeefe_1
look 2 long shot posing
Okeefe_3
Look 6 moving
look 1 spinning
Okeefe_6
hoodie look posing
Look 5 spinning long shot
Look 7 Long shot jumping
look 8 spinning
“Ken’s Dream House” explores how our bodies interact with the spaces we occupy through the lens of dolls and dollhouses as an “imaginary” form mimicking an idealized version of our world. I have taken inspiration from the history of dollhouse design, from the architecture to the interior furniture and drapery. Researching the history of miniature room construction, such as fold out houses, I developed a highly constructed look within each garment echoing architectural lines through seams and protruding structural forms. I utilize modern interior designs, bold shapes and playfulness, stripping all ornamentation to focus primarily on form. These abstracted, structural forms in this collection serve as the actual object they are referring to, but in a way that is unrecognizable in comparison to its reference.
By ascribing reality to abstract objects, I hope to rupture our conceived notions of what objects are and how we ascribe reality to them. A chair for example because we are all familiar with the object. If I presented you with a separate object that has no physical similarities to a chair other than the fact that you can sit on it, we can still call that a chair despite it not fitting into the conventions of what we think it should look like.
Furthering the plastic notion of things, I create a parallel between the body in the garments to the body of a doll in order to question the reality of the human life versus the reality of a doll’s life. This is shown by revealing parts of the human body that are occupying the garment and concealing other parts of the body in tight stretch materials to create the illusion of the perfect plastic skin of a doll. By doing so I was able to highlight parts of the male physique and create my own form of an idealized body much like the way a doll is its own representation of the ideal human form.