Victoria Bi is a junior student at SAIC studying as a fashion designer and also as an artist. She works in multimedia and creates experimental functional garments. She believes that garments can be more attractive with other kinds of art to fulfill viewers’ and wearers’ sensations. With professional designing, patterning, sewing skills and experience with other forms of art such as performance, sculpture, print media, installations, she is willing to bring my unique art world and design concept into the fashion world. Also, with a different cultural background from most people around her, She is an artist that enjoys listening, communicating, and get inspired by people with a different identity. She hopes to gain more opportunities for connecting, collaborating, and creating in the future.
Look 1, 2021, Bean bag chair garment, photo: Feifei Wang, model: Kiki Yin
Look 2, 2021, Sofa Garment, photo: Feifei Wang, model: Edie Xu
Look 3, 2021, Foldable chair garment, photo - Feifei Wang, model - Vicky Bi
photo, 2021, Model - Loken Lee, Edie Xu, Vicky Bi, Photographer - Feifei Wang
photo2, 2021, Model - Loken Lee, Edie Xu, Vicky Bi, Photographer - Feifei Wang
photo3, 2021, Model - Loken Lee, Edie Xu, Vicky Bi, Photographer - Feifei Wang
photo4, 2021, Model - Loken Lee, Edie Xu, Photographer - Feifei Wang
photo5, 2021, Model - Loken Lee, Edie Xu, Vicky Bi, Photographer - Feifei Wang
photo6, 2021, Model - Edie Xu, Vicky Bi, Photographer - Feifei Wang
photo7, 2021, Model - Edie Xu, Vicky Bi, Photographer - Feifei Wang
Please imagine a scene. With a street light and the moon high up in the sky, you are walking by a neighborhood. Along the side of the road, you see these old furnitures, some have been taken apart, some remain complete but have imperfections on their body that are hard to ignore. You decide to stop by, facing these furnitures that are at the end of their life as functional objects, wondering about those memories they carry with them and how you can bring them back to life.
I was intrigued by this contrast between a sense of coziness and loneliness in it. I decided to create this collection that merges furnitures, functional objects, and everyday wear into experimental garments that will be able to meet people’s needs. The idea of bringing different pieces together, transforming their form, and finally unifying them as a whole is practiced in this collection. This also contains my call out to the fashion industry to bring more attention to wasted objects and reusable materials with open minds. With the idea of rebirth and the functional aspect of the garments, I wish to encourage consumers to keep a single garment for longer instead of buying more to waste.
All the garments are like lego pieces, they can be taken off from the wearer’s body, transform into pieces and assemble back into furnitures. From a bean bag chair, a box cushion sofa to a lounge chair, these garments can meet different types of needs. Different types of accessories are used in each look for assembling. Color palettes are selected to bring comfort, softness, and a peaceful feeling to the wearers.
In order to bring the idea of rebirth into my fabrics, I reference the Japanese Boro textiles and quilting techniques. There are hand-knitted squares; mended and patched fabric with embroidery and screen-printed patterns. While the COVID-19 is making materials and supports harder to reach, it also cuts my connection with my supportive family. In order to memorize old furniture in my grandmother’s house that is covered with plastic slipcovers, I recycled plastic and yarns to bring that memory into my collection. With limitations and the complex processes of creating these fabrics, I decided to scan and print all these fabric samples, and then hand sew the actual piece onto the printed ones. This helps to create an illusion for viewers and also makes it possible to mass-produce the collection.