Student works on Beyonce inspired collection for Threads Fashion Show
Hunched over a table carefully drawing lines, Sala White was surrounded by fabric that she hopes will be presented on a runway.
The Southfield senior is a Fashion Merchandising student preparing for the annual student-run fashion show, Threads, that will take place on campus April 22.
Her first collection is inspired by Beyonce’s visual album “Lemonade” and the biblical figures, The Four Horsemen.
“I took a lot of inspiration from powerful imagery,” White said. “I am kind of reinventing Beyonce’s looks from her tour.”
This will be her second time submitting designs to the annual student-run show. Each collection can take anywhere from two months to two years to complete. The time it takes to make a single garment depends on the design — an outfit smaller with less fabric could take 12 hours while one with multiple pieces could take more than 20 hours to construct.
“I initially joined Threads just because I wanted to be part of a fashion show,” White said. “I stayed because I think it’s great that the school is putting something like this on for the design students.”
Her creations begin with a concept, followed by the use of Adobe Illustrator to sketch out the idea.
Then the draping and patterning begins.
“The pattern-making process is probably the most challenging and consuming part,” White said. “The pattern is a visual blueprint for the outfit. After that it is all about the right sewing techniques.”
White’s other collection she’s designing was inspired by singer Solange’s album, “A Seat at the Table.”
Another inspiration was the visual representations of movement. White is dying the fabrics to look like granite and each piece has a sense of movement to it.
“I have always really liked the visual aspects of music,” White said. “Music videos and powerful women in music really inspire me.”
White’s ultimate inspiration came from herself. She said her desire to push her talents further each time she makes a garment or collection keeps her going.
“What I like, especially with these collections, is that I pushed myself to do more,” White said. “For one of my collections I’m dying my own fabric and for the other collection I made no dresses. It’s all skirts and pants. I try to push myself to do more.”
White spends several hours a week working on her collection. She stood in front of one of her dresses on Feb. 28 with white beads in one hand and a ruler in the other.
She took the beads and draped them across the mannequin. She stepped back to look at her work and smiled.
“With Threads, the thing I’m looking forward to most is seeing my designs walk down the runway,” White said.
Tickets for the Threads fashion show are $10 and VIP Tickets are $50. The show is starts at 7 p.m. on April 22 in Finch Fieldhouse.
