BENI JAYA

Grey Sheep

bjrfashion

Location

bristol / England

University

Plymouth college of art

Graduation year

2022

Contact

I’m a designer often influenced by military and active gear. My university final major project focused on functionality as an essential element of future fashion and how it can go hand in hand with aesthetic.

Throughout the course of my degree I have gained invaluable experience that will be very useful to me when moving into the industry. This experience has led me to gain a variety of skills such as researching, sewing, pattern making, designing, illustrating, moodboard making and much more. The skills I have developed have led me to be a part of graduate fashion week 2022 catwalk which will provide me with opportunities to potential employers.

Latest Collection

At Ease

My collection is titled ‘At Ease’. It takes a lot of inspiration from military and outdoor wear. I am aiming to bring the functionality of military wear and active gear to the everyday wearer. That’s why I chose ‘At Ease’, suggesting the wearer is comfortable when wearing the garments. Covid has greatly impacted peoples fashion requirements as they began going outdoors a lot more. This means that they need more convenient storage/carrying space with them. Military gear often achieves this level of functionality that consumers are now searching for. I wanted to design something that can be worn in an urban environment but be equally as useful as outdoor gear. The urban camouflage in the collection considers the functionality of military camouflage and translates it into the urban world.

The collection consists of modular elements as I considered trends in fashion today and the value of customisation. I chose heavy duty fabrics as I wanted to create a collection that had longevity – to combat the throwaway aspect of fast fashion today. A lot of the pouches in my collection are sourced from military surplus stores. I left these pouches unaltered as I felt they bring history and authenticity to the garments. I also wanted to incorporate upcycling as these pouches were discarded and otherwise had no purpose. I think fashion designers today should be considering sustainability and ways in which they can use what already exists to bring it new life.