Love in Every Stitch

Clothing has made an impact on my life for more reasons just to cover up. Every knit has been my saving grace.

How does one distinguish the difference between a piece of cloth and a visual statement, or

whether a few words mean where one stands in life or if they're just for show? In today's fashion culture, it is not uncommon to see shirts that have strong political phrasing on them, or denim pants that have cuffs that catch your attention for a reason. It is not uncommon to find these “pieces of cloths” being worn for more than just to ensure decency, rather, it is very common to find out that these clothes have been made to make a louder statement, to make a difference in the world, if you would. In every stitch, the root of love lies deeply.

As I've touched on in the introduction, the importance of clothing speaks for itself in the fashion culture, for it is almost entirely based off of what we humans wear and how we wear it. Since every human in the modern era (not speaking for those who have the luxury of living where public nudity is legal) wears clothing, their influence is just as much important in everyday culture, whether it is known or not. Evaluating this work of art in such a way creates loads of possibilities, for both the wearer

themselves, the creators (me), along with the rest of the world.
When Barbie doll dresses and Ken doll khaki shorts were at the top of every child's Christmas

list, a trip to the local Goodwill store was at the top of mine. Finding a worn out denim jacket and a too-small washed out pair of sweatpants was enough to satisfy the creative energy itching to be released through my tiny fingers. Cutting up denim and sewing pieces together to create some sort of covering for my dolls was the definition of bliss, whether they were well put together or not, well, I'll leave that out of the conversation. Nonetheless, I found something that would let me release my inner imagination.

Growing up, I didn't have too much of a “voice”, never being allowed to express my thoughts or feelings during the tense situations I found myself in. This lead into the way I carried myself at school, which was quiet and to myself, like many other overlooked children. The only way I really felt like I had a chance was to express myself through my clothing, which came quite easily since my closet selection came from Goodwill, the resting place of retro and weird styles. As long as I had enough colors, shapes, forms, and I felt good about how they went together on my body along with my own little touch to the hems or sleeves, I didn't feel the need to talk; My clothing was loud enough for most.

The more I dove deeply in the fashion culture, the more I realized that with the new-found voice I had in creating clothing/looks, I would be able to say more than I ever did with my actual voice. Today, I have a small brand called Fre-Dom, where I design all of the designs and a part of the profit goes towards aiding those in underdeveloped countries. There are many brands that thrive on their artistic ability and never-ending creations, however, I was driven to create clothing not because of my thirst for acceptance by fashion critics, but to say something that I never knew while growing up: love. Knowing the power clothing holds in almost every culture and society challenged me to accept the fact that I could influence where and how this power is used and distributed. My mind stuck to one picture, to help the overlooked and the under-loved.

As it might not be as noble as photographing the poor to raise awareness or painting beautiful

portraits of patients who are having trouble seeing their exquisiteness, I knew that if had a clothing idea, I could figure out a way to help change the world. With overlooked cloth, I figured I could make a difference for the ones who were experiencing the same casted shadow.

We all wake up everyday to put together an outfit either by color, comfort, necessity, or just by plain preference. As easy as it would be to create a certain style or “feel”, such as sexual appeal, conservativeness, retro, or gothic, it could just as easily create a statement about love and how to help others who are needing it most. Each person is a walking billboard; I wanted to help create the billboards of those who understood how much of an audience looked at them everyday.

The designs I create are rooted from how I see the act of love could be done, from a simple gesture, such as a handshake, to the way the details are stitched together, never being overlooked, receiving the attention and love it deserves. Some designs carry simply only words, touching base upon how simplicity can create just as, or even more of, a powerful message than the visual creations do. Interconnecting these messages of love with the culture of street art has allowed me to reach new audiences that might not see as much of that positivity. “Make love cool” is one of my favorite slogans that I keep focused on, completely understanding the boundaries I have to cross in order to do so. If Chance the Rapper(1) can make Christianity cool through his music and if J.K. Rowling(2) could make wizardry cool through her books, I could make helping others and spreading love cool through my clothing.

In order to create these designs, my process is truly not that intriguing. Instead of having a week long deep intuition that completely takes over all of my senses and creates something, that I am completely unconscious to, then wake up to find a masterpiece, my ideas start from a simple doodle. I would always have little notebooks or loose leaf sheets of paper laying around with half of the page being taken up by stick-figures with pants or poorly drawn shirts and the other side being taken up by slogans or words I thought would transition beautifully into the culture I was attempting to shape. From those doodles, I would then find a way to take my favorite picks and analyze it to see if it would need to be a digital design to be screen-pressed on or a design that I could do by hand, stitch-by-stitch. Of course digital designs were brought to life much quicker with the beauty of fast technology, but the labor of sewing fabric by hand was something that brought stillness to my mind, that brought reassurance.

Creating clothing that carries a purpose other than covering our unsightly features has given me a sense of responsibility in this society, one that I now couldn't possibly become blind to knowing the amount of influence that is possible. Using this voice I have found in the world of fashion has made me realize how empowered I was in the transitioning of hate-influenced worded designs to having clothing that represented love. Being someone who grew up in an environment where love was seldom and being overlooked was what life had to offer, backing away from helping others who are living in the same situation is short from cowardly. Using this ability to make a change in the world is my reason to continue, now knowing that my voice is finally being heard.