Lenai's Fashion Blog

Black, Light Grey, Light Pink, Ruby Red, Dark Grey

My fabric moodboard is pretty simple for now. For the base of all my garments I want to use cotton/fleece blend for both the tops and bottom and used more unique fabrics like silk satin and brocade as an accent. I’ll team up the cotton and brocade for the bottoms and the cotton and silk satin on the tops. For the denim I haven’t fully figured out how I want to  use it but I do know I want to include it in my collection.

This look is a velour velvet jacket dress. It has a functional zipper in the middle with no pockets and has one sleeve. The dress stops at mid-thigh to give the model's legs a longer look. I really like the brand, Juicy Couture, so I wanted to make my version of the jackets but I'm turning it into a mini dress.

This link takes you to a brief video that tells you the history of the hoodie and how Champion(sports apparel brand) developed the piece in the 1920s. Later, they described how the hoodie and black culture intertwined with each other creating new way of life and style.

This is an article, written by Dalanie Harris, that goes deeper into the history and relationship between the black community and the hoodie. It talks about how we popularized it while also be criminalized by it, including victims like Trayvon Martin who was shot an killed all because he looked suspicious in a grey hoodie. It is a great read and made me want to continue with my theme even more.

These are my latest sketches that I want to create for my senior collection. The top sketch is called "The Bonnet Dress." It is a Rococo inspired corset with dethatched puffer sleeves. With it comes a floor-length skirt that has a medium length train. With the skirt comes a front slit that has multiple layers of ruffles. The main attraction of the outfit is the bonnet itself. I want it to be long and dramatic. I plan to have embellishments on the headband and the body of the bonnet itself. The second look cropped white wife-beater shirt paired with jogger pants that has a half-pleated skirt connected at the waistband. I want to challenge myself by adding a varsity jacket to the outfit and have my model wear a durag, which common headwrap worn by Black American men. The last look is a cropped, hooded, corseted vest with a hood. It has no sleeves and has noticeable princess seams in the front. I’ll pair it with these multi-layered bottoms that are ruffled. I plant to make the pants out of the same material you would use to make sweatpants, so cotton or a cotton and polyester blend.

So I was looking for videos that show how sweatpants are made and I found this great video by this creator named Glory Allan. It's a really great video that goes into details and you start by making a pattern. I plan to make a mock-up for my skirt but I plan to you this video for guidance.

So these are my old/starting sketches for my senior collection. I wanted to add chains but I felt that it was too much and decided to let the structure and fabric choice of my piece be the main attraction. Since these are overall sketches, I'm going to focus on main outfit's skirt. I call it the bonnet dress and I want it to be the biggest piece in the collection.

So this is an article that talks about the history and function of the corset. I found it really helpful to look and find what type of style I want my corset to be. I also just an interesting read about the fashion of history.

So this is my first mood board for my theme and really want to make sure I have a good grasp of where I want to go with this look. I'll most likely make another mood board for the skirts and where I want to go style wise.

So this was my first vision board of what I wanted to do. It was really just a way to get my ideas and thoughts down. As I was looking at my board I haven't fully made a solid thought to my theme so there was a disconnect for me.

So my vision/hope for my senior thesis is merge structure, elegance, and a hoodie into one form. I want to give a different meaning and perspective when if comes to African American Fashion. My goal is to not only challenge myself, but to also create a new lane for black elegance. My vision is to combine the structure of a corset with the leisure of a hoodie and give it an elegant twist. I remember after the covid lockdown was lifted, many people online started to belittle or nag about how it was ghetto to see black people/young adults at the store or the airport in sweatpants, a hoodie, and wearing crocs. But, when they see white people do it, it was more acceptable. I want to take that narrative and make it into something empowering and gives the message "I don't always have to be dressed up just to go outside."   Wish me luck!