Gianna Gaspar is a 22 year old artist from Cleveland, Ohio. She has shown a passion for art ever since she was a little girl. Her work is Mostly inspired by memories, family, and the idea of home. She dreams of becoming a costume designer. She will also continue exercising her skills in several additional mediums: Painting, Fibers, and film photography.
"Welcome to the Tea Party", 2021, group, illustrated and printed custom fabrics, feathers, screen printing, video footage by Amy Limpinyakul and assistant Hex Yang
Models from left to right: Janel Carrington, Anna Stratton, Demi Thomsen, Brenda Halter, Christine Vi
"The Business Woman", 2021, detail shot, screen printing, grommets, binding, wool, silk organza, video footage by Amy Limpinyakul and assistant Hex Yang
While the business woman may often feel stressed and seem a bit intimidating, she has a big heart and enjoys spending time at the tea room. She cannot get through an afternoon of tea without her phone blowing up, so the other ladies always encourage her to put her phone on silent for a few hours and enjoy herself. In hopes of helping her relax a bit, the wild child slips some gin into the business woman’s tea, aiding her ability to escape her crazy work life and enjoy a nice, relaxing afternoon at the tea room. Model: Alyssa Craig
"Pattern Look", 2021, illustrated and printed patterns inspired by old photos and family home wallpaper, video footage by Amy Limpinyakul and assistant Hex Yang
A look inspired by the atmosphere of a tea room. Floral wallpaper, tea cups, and tablecloths are very important aesthetic aspects of the afternoon tea experience. It has become a tradition for the women to choose which teacup has their favorite floral design and strategically arrive to tea just a bit earlier than the others, so that they do not get stuck with the “ugly cup.” Model: Demi Thomsen
"The Wild Child", 2021, illustrated and printed pattern inspired by old photos, "fluffy choker," iridescent fringe fabric, video footage by Amy Limpinyakul and assistant Hex Yang
The youngest woman of the group who likes to party, leading to her tendency to show up to Sunday tea with sunglasses on and a gnarly headache. The Wild Child always tries to keep things exciting and bring her shenanigans to the tea table. She has also discovered that tea sandwiches are the perfect hangover cure. Model: Christine Vi
"Doily Look", 2021, screen printing, silk organza, wool, daisy embroidered and sequined fabric, video footage by Amy Limpinyakul and assistant Hex Yang
Doilies are always everywhere!! This look is meant to reference the intricate and beautiful doily patterns and shapes found throughout a tea room. Sometimes doilies have a tendency to make things feel aged, so I wanted this look to be young and fun, while still using doily imagery. Model: Janel Carrington
"Tea Look", 2021, wool, silk organza, grommets, buttons and loops, artificial flowers, video footage by Amy Limpinyakul and assistant Hex Yang
One of the most important parts of this story is the tea, which brings everyone together! This look is visually inspired by aerial views of tea farms, and utilizes artificial flowers to reference the actual makeup of tea. The shape of the top is meant to look like a tea bag folding over with the ribbon referencing the actual string found attached to a tea bag. Model: Brenda Halter
"The Kindergarten Teacher", 2021, tracing and printing of toddler cousin's "flower tea cup" drawing to create pattern, silk organza, hand-dyed feathers, cartridge pleats, video footage by Amy Limpinyakul and assistant Hex Yang
The one who cries when you tell her you got an award at school or a promotion. She is famous for her overly affectionate cheek kisses and intense hugs. The Kindergarten teacher does not care much for serious talk at the tea table, because it can lead to her getting a bit too emotional or upset. Model: Anna Stratton
"Welcome to the Tea Party", 2021, group, illustrated and printed custom fabrics, feathers, screen printing, video footage by Amy Limpinyakul and assistant Hex Yang
Models from left to right: Demi Thomsen, Brenda Halter
"Forbidden Planet (1956)" Reboot, Advanced Costume Design, Adobe Fresco
Characters left to right: "Altaira": played by Emma Roberts, "Commander Adams": played by Liam Hemsworth, and "The Cook": played by Awkwafina. Altaira: Young, innocent, and beautiful. She has never known anything other than the forbidden planet. Altaira enjoys watching old movies from Earth and finds joy in exploring the underwater wonders of her planet. Commander Adams: representing Australia; He is sent on a mission to the forbidden planet along with a crew of professionals from around the globe. The Cook: representing Korea; A funny drunk who is in charge of feeding the crew.
"The Lady Vanished (1938)" Reboot, Advanced Costume Design, Adobe Fresco
Characters left to right: “Gilbert”: Sam Clafin, “iris”: Emily Blunt, “Miss Froy”: Julie Andrews, “Doctor”: Max Riemelt, “The Reporter”: Jake Gyllenhaall Gilbert: Iris’ supportive love interest that helps her find missing passengers. Iris: She ends up on a peculiar train to England. As she notices people going missing, she is determined to solve the mystery. Miss Froy: A kind English government official that disappears on the train. Doctor: An undercover Nazi that is capturing and killing important government officials and workers who are a threat to Hitler. The Reporter: An American sent to collect information about the Nazi party.
This page is a display of both my senior fashion collection, titled “Welcome to the Tea Party,” and selected work from my Advanced Costume Design class, taught by Bambi Breakstone.
For my senior fashion collection I have developed “Welcome to the Tea Party,” a lighthearted story about women enjoying afternoon tea. Because my work stems from my own relationships and memories, this fun story is a way to make the collection more accessible to viewers while remaining true to my inspiration. Each of these characters are inspired by a specific woman in my own life, as well as the atmosphere one experiences when they go to tea.
The Story: The stressed business woman, overly affectionate kindergarten teacher, geeky book worm, and mischievous wild child gather at the table for afternoon tea. Together they enjoy bite size treats, hot English Breakfast with sugar cubes and cream, and colorful banter. Tea time allows them to escape reality and enjoy a comforting atmosphere layered with soothing music, fun floral patterns, and LOTS of doilies. The business women has the hardest time escaping her demanding work life and her constantly buzzing phone, so the wild child decides to help her “relax a bit.” With the book worm’s help, the wild child slyly slips some gin into the business woman’s tea. Thanks to the book worm’s chatter about her latest read, and the kindergarten teacher’s ability to shed both happy and sad tears as they reminisce, the business woman hardly notices anything has happened to her tea at all. When tea time is over, everyone leaves with even more memories and feelings of excitement for the next time they are able to return.
In Advanced Costume Design we have been working on understanding the many parts of designing a film through our two reboot projects. Our process has included casting, remounting stories, set design, research, and design. “The Lady Vanished (1938)” is the first reboot we did this semester. My rendition is a murder mystery involving Nazi’s, government officials, and a budding romance. The time period of this film is 1938 and mostly takes place on a train. The second reboot of the semester is based on the film “Forbidden Planet (1956).” This futuristic film allows us to have a bit more experimentation with our designs, making research an extremely important part of the design process. I have chosen to keep the storyline of this film quite similar, but chose to change the environment of the forbidden planet. The unknown world is now underwater, which allows for me to really explore different costume scenarios than the original film. Casting is also very different in my rendition, including people of different nationalities and genders to reflect what I think a future space crew would look like. (Please see above for character descriptions, casting, and illustrations)