By Brooke Finnerty
Emily Martinez is one of the eighteen textile and apparel designers showcasing their collection at the annual Capstone Collection Fashion Show on April 27. In the following interview with University Fashion Group, she reveals details of her upcoming collection “Biophoria.”
BF: Tell me about yourself as an individual and a designer.
EM: I’m a junior TXA major. Design wise, I would say my aesthetic has really shifted. Actually, this year I used to be very into Harajuku and very colorful stuff like that. I’m getting a bit more into sustainability and I know sustainability is a really big thing to tackle, as a whole. It’s very hard because there’s so many different sectors of it. So, what I want to do for my collection is essentially just make it 100% biodegradable. That way I can just focus on how everything is going to affect the earth when it kind of returns to it. So yeah, I would say that’s kind of what I’ve got going on.
BF: Tell me about your creative process.
EM: Before we even started with the collection, we had to do 30 sketches to see if we had any ideas, we really wanted to put out there. We were just supposed to get a lot of inspiration and over winter break was actually when it was done.
During that time, I did a lot of visits to Peace Park, Barton, and Zilker. I just really wanted to be in nature when I was concepting everything. So, everything kind of does revolve around natural shapes, natural colors, natural textures, silhouettes, stuff like that. Since it is supposed to be non-harmful towards the earth, I did want it to be a homage to nature and how I interact with it currently.
BF: Tell me more about what inspired your collection.
EM: I really love Japanese designers. Ey Miyaki is really big to me. I do have a little bit of pleading in my collection as well. As I said, I’m inspired by natural textures and nature in general. I do have a bit of a different style. I do really love colors. I really love fun textures, like fur, which was really hard for me to incorporate into my collection because fur or fa isn’t biodegradable.
BF: Tell me more about your different looks.
EM: This is my first look (Image 2.) Its three layers of transparent button-ups and transparency is a really big problem with sustainability, especially in the fashion industry. It’s like a reference to that. So, we have these kinds of gills going along on the side (Image 3), a little bit like mushrooms. Then a little layer on top is just supposed to, again, the transparency, the sheerness. Then there’s another layer as well. It’s just a big blue button up.
My second look is these seed pocket pants. I’m planning on putting some little sproutlings in them to give some pops of color. The top of that is going to be a contoured bra and a Nagar bioplastic circle cape. I really wanted to work with plastic. It’s something that I’ve done since freshman year. I think the way that plastic looks with garments is really cool, but plastic is very obviously not biodegradable. There are a lot of biomaterials that are very good alternatives. Agar, bioplastic is one of them. Essentially, it’s just agar, which is seaweed, gelatin, glycerin, and water. You just make plastic from that. It’s very cool. I had to do a lot for it when I made a 16-piece circle mold. I had to 3D print it and it has an 18-inch diameter. So that took a really long time. I’m just prototyping it right now though. But it’s very cool. It’s very fleshy. It’s very interesting.
The third look is pleated mushroom pleat pants. The texture is supposed to resemble bark on a tree. Then the top is a very loose knit sweater with an infinity loop for a sleeve. The fourth look is my favorite. That’s where the little bubbles come in (Image 1.) I’m calling it a grape dress for now.
It’s going to be purple, and it also has this very interesting texture. It’s like scribbles, but stitches (Image 1.) This texture specifically is called shibori, shibori fabric manipulation. Typically, a shibori refers to tie dye, but it’s basically where you put a marble in the fabric. You tie a knot around it, steam it, and it holds the whole bubble shape. Underneath the bubbles there’s going to be a wood re-boning structure for a hoop skirt, and that is my collection.
BF: How do you feel about your collection being revealed on the runway?
EM: I think it’s a really good opportunity to get my name out there a little bit. I am a junior, so this is typically what seniors do. I just wanted to have it on my resume for when I’m applying for jobs and internships. I’m really nervous. It’s a lot of work to get done all at once.
I have a lot of things going on. I work and I have school as well, so it’s really hard to find the time, but I am excited. My family’s going to be there, and they’ve just been hearing details about what’s going on. They don’t really know what’s going on. My dad doesn’t know anything. So yeah, I’m excited to see my family’s reaction, my friend’s reactions. I just want to see it all come together.
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