Grads

THE CLASS OF 2019 STANDOUTS | PRATT INSTITUTE

THE PAST FEW MONTHS HAVE MARKED THE ENTRY OF THE NEXT WAVE DESIGN STUDENTS WHO ARE LEAVING THE CLASSROOM BEHIND FOR THE REALITIES OF THE INDUSTRY. EAGER TO SHED A LIGHT ON THE EMERGING MINDS FROM DESIGN INSTITUTIONS AROUND THE WORLD, WE'RE HIGHLIGHTING SOME OF THE TOP GRADUATES WHO ARE JOINING THE NOT JUST A LABEL COMMUNITY.

Our next selection of graduates come from Pratt Institute, where location and craft blend together to bring designers an entirely different point of view. We chatted with a select cohort of Pratt design graduates, hearing more about their future plans, how their education reshaped their creative inklings, and so much more. 

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Shea Stiebler

What excites you the most about graduating and fully entering the fashion industry? 

I’m really eager to engage in projects outside of the classroom setting and start to utilize my skills on a more professional level. I’m excited to try out opportunities in different realms, whether that’s design, jewelry, textile, illustration, or whatever may come. I’m open to taking on new challenges!
 

How are you hoping to change the future of fashion? 

I’d love to expose the craft and art that is fashion. I think crediting the creatives and makers who work together to produce clothing makes a piece so much more special when you get to see the process and work that goes into it. Clothes today are too easily disposable and I feel more respect needs to be given to not only the craft, but also to the garment itself.

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Fiona Con

How did your time in school help you grow as a creative? 

During my four years at Pratt, I was exposed to numerous different mediums and facilities that enabled me to experiment beyond my own department. I was then able to apply the skills I gained in this exploration to my designs. I worked with nontraditional materials, most of which were found or salvaged, and thus lead to unique pieces with sculptural influences. Through a making based curriculum, I cultivated a fine arts-based design process that is the confluence of life-long experimentations, which allowed major advancement through inspiring and supportive instruction.
 

What lessons did you learn while in school that you think will be the most useful post-graduation? 

I learned a lot about natural dyeing and textile manipulation that I would like to expand on and am curious to see applied in larger scales. I had the freedom to experiment, unconstrained, in reimagining existing textiles and revitalizing them into new material and garments. Even in the small scale of my department, I was made aware of the vast amount of waste created in the making process of a single garment, that I know is exponentially more so in a factory setting. 

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Kara Wright Emig

How are you hoping to change the future of fashion? 

I hope to change the future of fashion by designing and producing more thought-provoking clothing and by working towards a more sustainable industry.  I want to change fashion’s future through my unique voice.

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Buse Özler

What lessons did you learn while in school that you think will be the most useful post-graduation? 

I’ve always been good with time management, but my senior year molded me into an even better manager of time (for which I am grateful). I was also able to take classes aside from apparel design; I took hand and machine knitting, shoe design, business of fashion, and even poetry. These various classes taught me to be more open, stay curious, and to not be afraid of trying/learning something new. I hope to continue learning and growing post-graduation as well. Thanks to Pratt, we’ve also been taught the technical aspects of fashion design as well as the creative side; this way our knowledge of construction can help us design and communicate better.

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Ruojing Wang

How did your time in school help you grow as a creative? 

I would not be the way I am without all the artist friends I met in school. I learned not only from their creations in their studies, but also the way they express themselves with garments. My friends are constantly challenging traditional ideas of gender, styling and what is considered a piece of clothing. I was able to take advantage of the resources at the library. Pratt has great books, DVDs and online resources at the library, so I spent a lot of time there doing research on topics I was interested in. I will definitely miss having easy access to information.
 

What excites you the most about graduating and fully entering the fashion industry? 

Post-graduation is a scary time, but it provides a change and space to evaluate what I want to contribute to the industry. The possibility of creating a more diverse view on what menswear is and influence how people dress themselves is exciting. Seeing my ideas integrated into other people’s lives is something I’m really looking forward to.

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Kyra Feng

What lessons did you learn while in school that you think will be the most useful post-graduation? 

I think the majority fashion students take similar curriculums, the only difference really comes from lessons we learnt while approaching this knowledge. One thing that I came across that was incredibly useful is this idea of "doing it" or taking actions as soon as you think of it. I feel a lot of times ideas only live in our heads, but when we think too much or plan too much, the idea starts to fade away or eventually we end up too lazy to do it. Then when we look back after awhile, a lot of times we will regret not carrying out the idea earlier. The old Chinese saying is that “ all beginnings are hard."  The best way to solve that is by beginning to do something. And only by doing it will more ideas starts to flicker.

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Morgan Howell

How did your time in school help you grow as a creative?

These past four years have been filled with plenty of practical knowledge. But I must say, more important for my creativity, was the personal experiences I had through my time at Pratt. I met people and traveled to places that permanently altered my perspective and taught me what it means to be a women. I have more to say now then I would have ever guessed the small town girl I was before heading to school would have. Creativity encompasses all of the senses, and I’ve seen more, felt more, smelt more, and spoke up more than I thought I would be capable of at this stage in my life. I am eternally grateful for the ups and downs that lead me to make work that feels worth a damn.

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Katie Jiang

How are you hoping to change the future of fashion? 

We all know the industry has a lot of problems, and there are too many to address. But I think the two biggest for me are related to the environment and the fashion student culture regarding mental and physical health. I'm starting to change the way I design to better the environment. Some little things that can help are: using natural or repurposed materials, no waste patterning, natural dying, and low production count to have less product waste. Collectively, these small steps could make a small impact. Recently, I've been learning more about just how damaged our planet is. And I want to start designing with this at the top of my mind.

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El Quesada

How did your time in school help you grow as a creative? 

My time at school offered me structured challenges during a maturing time in my life; I've gotten to know myself, which left ample room to manifest that into a style or aesthetic that I've projected now into every facet of my work.
 

How are you hoping to change the future of fashion? 

To make a change in a system you must make a change in yourself, so I will focus on the small ways I can value my clothes and create space for fashion to be present as an extension of self and less as a disposable and wasteful trend.


Pratt Institute