Vivienne Maestrado

Artist Statement

My senior project is about expressing your true self, whether it’s about your personality or where you come from. If I were to describe my collection in three words, they would be vintage, free and whimsical. This relates to my overall style and brand.

The inspiration for my senior project is about my Filipino heritage and how the Philippines gained its independence from Spain’s colonization and the protection under the U.S. until the end of World War II. The key elements of my inspiration represent my true self. For example, the colors I chose: earth tones of some warm and cool colors to represent the environment. Also, I chose some significant elements from traditional Filipino clothing and mixed them with modern styles to mash the past and present that create the future.

My goal is to inspire future artists and designers to fully express their true selves beyond their imagination. History and character development are part of my strategy in the process of the designs for this project. It’s how I would see the connection between the design of the garment with the client or viewer. Using some of the key elements from the backstory helps start the design or idea process. Just like how fashion evolves and repeats, history continues to repeat itself or certain events return. With history and the use of character development, it corresponds to my chosen future career as a costume designer, because I’m all about creating designs for either special occasions or for entertainment, such as concerts, movies or TV shows.

IMAGE GALLERY

Click through to enlarge and view individual fashion designs from Vivienne's thesis project. Photos with models: Naomieh Jovin '17.