Roy Zhu is from Nanchang, China, and is currently pursuing a BFA degree at SAIC. He mainly focuses on fashion design, but is also interested in styling and photography. In garment making, he mostly plays around with shape, texture, and creative styling. Roy’s garments are often wearable in multiple ways, because he believes that styling is one of the most important elements in fashion design. Constantly practicing and honing his skills in photography, styling and garment making helps him brings his exact visions to life. There is always more to learn, and he never wants to stop.
Mulholland drive, 2021, cotton velveteen, bull denim and screen print
the side view of my top. photo by Madeline Hampton
Mulholland drive, 2021, cotton velveteen, bull denim and screen print
front view, jacket (cotton velveteen) and skirt (bull denim), all screen printed.
Mulholland drive, 2021, cotton velveteen, bull denim and screen print
side/front view (use of front arm holes)
Mulholland drive, 2021, cotton velveteen, bull denim and screen print
side view with ghost
Mulholland drive, 2021, cotton velveteen, bull denim and screen print
side view
Mulholland drive, 2021, cotton velveteen, bull denim and screen print
back view
Mulholland drive, 2021, cotton velveteen, bull denim and screen print
Mulholland drive, 2021, cotton velveteen, bull denim and screen print
unreal space created by image maker Madeline Hampton and Roy Zhu
Mulholland drive, 2021, cotton velveteen, bull denim and screen print
side view of my dress skirt, screen printed both side on bull denim. could be worn as a dress and skirt. photo by Madeline Hampton
Mulholland drive, make up
make up shot, make up done by me, photo by Madeline Hampton
This project is inspired by one of my favorite movies of all time: Mulholland Drive, directed by David Lynch. This movie created a perfect image of the difference between reality, nightmare, and dream; which are often blurred together. I’m quite interested in the silhouette created by the movement of different garments in the movie, especially when characters are being frightened to death. Additionally, I combine the silhouette with the vibe of the set design in the movie; such as the scary movie theatre, the stage curtains, and the dim lighting. I was really drawn towards the curtain motif, because of its frequent reoccurrence in dream-scenes. Curtains remind me of pleats, however, instead of making pleats, I decided to screen-print pleats onto the fabric in layers of different colors. The pleats I created mimic the way the curtains hang and can be cinched with a rope. The big shoulder and sleeve are inspired by the scene where a random character was scared to death and creates a large “shrugging” posture the moment before he dies. The collar is hollow, so it can be worn with a scarf running through it, as an additional way of styling it. This styling choice is inspired by the main character, who wore a scarf in the opening scene and one of the final scenes, where everything was revealed. The scarf coming through the collar represents the beginning and end of the dream; wrapping it around your neck represents when nightmares won’t go away. The skirt/dress can be worn two ways and has an addition apron to tie around the waist. I left the bottom of the skirt and the opening of the top part with raw edges, because I want to tell people that nothing is perfect; even dreams. The shape of the apron was inspired by the shape of the sleeve that’s worn by the main character when she was in the dream. The skirt is screen printed on both sides and is made of bull denim. The apron and the jacket are made of cotton velveteen. The use of cotton velveteen was inspired by the curtain motif in the movie, because it creates a similar texture. Leaving the apron and collar white means you don’t remember everything from your dreams and nightmares, and you also forget things from real life. I think white represents the blankness of one’s mind. The colors, black and green, were inspired by the scene where the main character escaped from a car crash and hid in a bush for the entire night. A tiny a bit of blue is used to represent the secret blue box and key seen throughout the movie; which is the key to reveal the truth. It’s subtle, because I want to express that truth is not always easy to find, it’s difficult to wake up from a dream, and it’s impossible to escape a nightmare.