Symbiosis

Throughout college, I have often struggled to justify my seemingly disparate interests in both biology and fashion design. What common thread, what unique experience, what motivations could I use to assuage critical parents and confused-but-supportive friends? Do my creative and academic interests occupy separate spheres and if one interest is less visible, does that make it less important? Someone once suggested that perhaps I should design hospital scrubs. However, I think the parallels between the two disciplines run far deeper. At its core, biology is the study of the interplay between elements of life — an exploration below surfaces to better understand the inner workings of an organism, a disease, or even an entire ecosystem. Similarly, fashion design relies on the synergy of many different elements to contribute to an overall appearance.

I’ve recently concluded that the symbiotic relationship between interests is what fundamentally shapes one’s world perspective. Symbiosis experiments with color, layering, and opacity to both reveal and celebrate what may not be visible on the surface. Constructed from layered lace and sheer organza mixed with structured plaids, the garments bring to light the hidden play of the visible and invisible in the design of our social, intellectual, and creative involvements.

Models (in order of appearance): Tabatha Hirsch, Stella Kleinman, Zoe Siegel, Nina Zhao, Sydney Nutakor, Sarah DiModica

Hair and makeup courtesy of Fashion@Brown’s Hair and Makeup Team; special thanks to Julia Leme and Zoya Unni
Photography: Ari Birnbaum, Matthew Chen, Danielle Deculus, Emma Rosenthal, Christine Peng, Sydney Nutakor, Trinity Williams, Brandon Magloire, Kaia Yalamanchili

Shira Wolpowitz

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Symbiosis