cinderella, they aren't sluts like you...

Michigan State University's Student Apparel Design Association held their annual Fashion Show on April 19th. [Yes, I realize it's now July. But in my defense, I have been meaning to do this since that point.] The theme for the show was "MUSE." Each student designer was to create a collection of at least three looks inspired by a style icon from past or present--BUT: no one got to pick who their inspiration was, it was drawn out of a hat. This was done to challenge the designers; to make them fuse their personal style with that of their randomly selected icon.  

I was fortunate enough to have Courtney Love as my icon. Now, I know what you're thinking [as most people did]--'why would you ever want Courtney Love??? She is crazy!'  I even heard some of the judges--who, to be fair, didn't know it was my collection--go "Ha, I wonder if the models are going to have track marks on their arms??" But I think I was lucky, and she was a fantastic icon to be inspired by. Courtney Love would wear--and has worn--everything and anything. I had a lot of freedom to do whatever I wanted, which was exciting. I knew I wanted to create a glammed-up version of the grungy look she was known for in the '90s. [you know, that time when she looked fairly clean :) ] My color palette was smoky grays, purples, and blues, with pale mint, a touch of gold, and some basic black thrown in. I tried to use some of the "classic" Courtney silhouettes--the baby-doll dress, and the skinny, skinny pant, with a few hints of modern looks thrown in. I came up with seven looks, and created five of them, but due to a few reasons, only presented four of them at the show. This is also the first collection I've ever rendered using Photoshop, which is super exciting to me. As much as I love hand-rendering and sketching, I love the clean, graphic look to these croquis. 

    

  

I also switched things up and had my models strut their stuff to "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana, and I even had my sister wear Converse [look-alike] low tops as a mini-homage to the late, great Kurt Cobain [he was a big fan of the brand :) ]