DREEMS hosted an event together with social media influencer, Icon Accidental, and students of the Parsons MFA program; Vera Blinova, Jihoon Kim, Ying Feng, and Zehua Wu.
DREEMS, a launchpad for rising designers, hosted an event with social media influencer and style icon, Lyn Slater, aka, Icon Accidental, and four emerging talents from the Parsons MFA Fashion Design and Society program on February 20th at DREEMS concept store in SoHo, New York City. The event was attended by more than 150 guests including the likes of designer Philip Lim and influencer Michelle Song. Design Studio 1: “Embodying Universal Bodies” was a design project that took place during the Fall Semester of the Parsons MFA Fashion Design & Society program. This 12-week design project urged young design students to actively utilize their skill sets and design approach for the betterment of marginalized populations within society, culture and the fashion industry. Students were paired up in 4 design teams respectively, focusing on the areas of Disability, Plus-Size, Transgender and Aging. Each design team was charged to find a muse/collaborator within the respected category to ensure primary research and a meaningful outcome.
MFA Fashion Design & Society students Vera Blinova, Jihoon Kim, Ying Feng, and Zehua Wu collectively aimed their efforts on the aspect of Aging. Through social media, they found Lyn Slater aka Icon Accidental and embarked on a 12 week collaboration, in which by the end, they had to present an 8-look collection, addressing the aspect of Aging. With the concept of Age Fluidity, the collection was created through a selection of Lyn Slater’s existing wardrobe, spanning various decades as a template of memory and nostalgia. These particular looks were then re-imagined through the notion of fabrics and threads going through wear and tear just as the aging body does. This resulted in the production of garments incorporating intricately crafted couture fabrics – reestablishing nostalgia and aging not as a retrospective lens but one of contemporary significance.
The not so accidental collaboration between Icon Accidental and design students proved to be a valuable design experience. The collection emphasizes the importance of Lyn Slater’s lived experience through various decades and the value of garments as memories and identifiers of our ageless, ever-developing identity. Living in a world of mass-production, this collection sequentially aims to address society’s unhealthy consumerist behavior towards the notion of ‘newness’ and ‘time’ and the value we collectively place into that. DREEMS, founded by Alise Trautmane-Uzuner and Sai Kong, has taken it upon itself to offer up-and-coming talent a platform, expertise, and guidance with the intention to disrupt the industry in its current state. The collaboration between DREEMS, Icon Accidental and these four promising students, is an authentic endeavor to reinforce innovation and rethinking within the fashion industry.
About DREEMS:
DREEMS is the preeminent fashion launchpad for emerging designers that offers business development solutions including a luxury concept store in prime Soho, NYC, PR showroom, wholesale, branding, integrated communications, and production services. Founded in 2017 by Alise Trautmane-Uzuner and Sai Kong, DREEMS is located in the heart of New York’s SoHo neighborhood where they curate and develop the most innovative brands and minds in the industry. As of today, DREEMS represents more than 70 young and established brands, including Richard Quinn, Litkovskaya, MSGM, Walk of Shame, GCDS, Juun.J, and Y Project.
