MIA DENO

Grey Sheep

miajdeno

Location

City and County of San Francisco / united states

University

Kent State University Fashion Design & Merchandising

Graduation year

2023

Contact

Growing up, Mia never thought that they would find a home in fashion. When they were a kid, they used to tug at the hems of their dresses and loosen the ribbons in their hair. They associated clothes with discomfort. But something about knitwear feels like community, like home. Something calls them back to the way every stitch needs and leans on each other to create webs of stories yet to be told, the rhythm of a knitting machine, a hook or a needle in their hands. Through knitwear as a medium, Mia tells stories about their life and childhood, about the people they love and their lives, the stories we all tell around a dinner table or cups of coffee. In 1998, her parents drove from their homes in Indiana to San Francisco, California, where she was born and raised in the city that shaped her into the artist and designer she is today. West Coast craftsmanship and imagination mixed with Midwestern grit and practicality, Mia’s upbringing has allowed her to bridge a gap between worlds. As a queer person, Mia’s love of fashion is drawn from their Community and the medium’s ability to protect, reveal, become, and ultimately, transform the wearer into whomever they want to be. Mia views fashion as not only a means of self-expression and story-telling but as a way to transform our lives and the communities we are a part of.

Latest Collection

M

M IS MIA J DENO'S BFA COLLECTION AS A GRADUATE OF KENT STATE UNIVERSITY. THEIR FIRST DECK OF TAROT CARDS WAS GIVEN TO THEM BY THEIR FIRST FASHION DESIGN INSTRUCTOR WHEN SHE LEFT THE PUBLIC ART PROGRAM THEY JOINED AT 15. THE CARDS HAD BEEN PASSED DOWN TO HER AND THEN TO MIA, AS FIRST DECKS ARE INTENDED TO BE, AND THROUGHOUT MIA'S LIFE, HAVE GIVEN THEM THE SAME SENSE OF CALM AND RECENTERING.
EACH GARMENT IS DESIGNED WITH MULTI-USE IN MIND AND WAS INSPIRED BY ONE OF EIGHTEEN SELECTED CARDS OF THE MAJOR SUIT OF THE DECK. A STORY IS TOLD THROUGH THE MAJOR SUIT OF THE DECK, THE MaJOR ARCANA, WHICH FOLLOWS A CHARACTER CALLED THE FOOL AS THEY ENCOUNTER ADJUSTMENT, THE DEVIL, THE LOVERS, THE SUN, THE MOON, ETC. EACH CARD SYMBOLIZES A BIG MOMENT IN THIS CHARACTER'S LIFE AS WELL WHOEVER SEEKS ANSWERS SUCH AS CHAOS AND UPHEAVAL (THE TOWER), LOVE AND ABUNDANCE (THE LOVERS), BALANCING SCALES AND FINDING JUSTICE (ADJUSTMENT). THE COLLECTION'S TITLE, M, IS A REFERENCE TO THEIR NAME, FAMILY'S NAMES (BROTHER MYLES, MOTHER TOMIA), AND RELATIONSHIP TO THEMSELF. THE NAME "MIA" MEANS MINE AND IN TRIBUTE, MIA REFLECTS ON THEIR PERSONAL JOURNEY(S) INTO WHO THEY ARE IN PARALLEL TO THAT OF THE FOOL THROUGHOUT THE COLLECTION.
WITH THE GOAL OF ELONGATING THE PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE OF A GARMENT, MIA HARNESSED THE MANY CAPABILITIES OF KNITWEAR, KNITTING MACHINES, AND MULTI-USE DESIGN. THEY PURSUED KNITTING BY USING STOLL KNITTING MACHINES WITH M1 PLUS AND CREATE PLUS SOFTWARE, FLYING TIGER DOUBLE BEDS, AND CROCHETING AND KNITTING BY HAND. THE NATURAL FLEXIBILITY OF KNITS AND THE STRUCTURE OF KNIT FABRICS THAT ALLOWS FOR MUCH EXPERIMENTATION ENCOURAGED MIA TO LOOK AT CLOTHING AS PUZZLE PIECES, THIS THINKING ULTIMATELY DEFINING MUCH OF THEIR COLLECTION. DESIGN THINKING WITH MULTI-USE IN MIND HAS BEEN COINED TRANSFORMABLE FASHION, ADJUSTABLE FASHION, AND CONVERTIBLE FASHION, BUT MIA'S FAVORITE TERM BY FAR IS MODULAR BECAUSE IT SPECIFICALLY REFERS TO THINKING AS EACH MOVING PART OF THESE GARMENTS AS PUZZLE PIECES, AS MODULES, THAT CAN BE TWISTED AND TURNED, ZIPPED AND BUTTONED, AND TRANSFORMED INTO THEIR NEXT FORM.