CCS FASHION ACCESSORIES DESIGN GRADUATES 2021
ALORE NIEMI
Alorē Niemi's craft is a result of the pursuit of identity and finding pleasure in sharing it with the world. We are all an extension of this Earth, and thus a part of one another, and we need to celebrate these connections. The work is an offering to wear a lens of someone other than yourself, to make peace with the differences between ourselves, and work together to create beneficial shared solutions.
Each day can feel a little more corrupt than the last, however the way we come together, the way that we speak and act, is what will instill change. This starts with getting dressed. Here is your invitation for you to move within this world with intention.
AVA KALOUSTIAN
Hi, I’m Ava. I just graduated from the College for Creative Studies, earning my BFA in Fashion Accessories Design and a minor in Illustration. My interests in the art and design industry are broad and my work showcases my consistent curiosity.
This past school year I had the chance to develop, design, and create a six-piece accessories collection. My collection is named “Oddball”, I chose Oddball because I’ve always loved Tim Burton’s work- and he has referred to himself as an oddball on multiple occasions.
Oddball is an ode to childhood; one that may, or may not have, existed for you. It is a privilege to be able to say you had a good childhood, or one at all. Childhood (to me) is one of the most sacred human experiences. Some may not remember their own, or do not want to remember it, and others might relish in the nostalgia of their youth. For me, childhood was fun, beautiful, innocent, and also terrifying. It seemed as if I could never catch up on “growing up”- always wanting to embrace my inner child even if I was told not to.
Fitting in is tough. When we are young and experience a sense of rejection with “fitting in” we are more likely to develop social fears and tend to self isolate. One could simply adapt and try to conform to what everyone else likes, or begin the search for your own form of company that actually suits your interests. I found myself becoming immersed in YouTube communities, online games, and also diving deeper into my love for art and film. I liked to make creepy little dolls, watch scary movies, burn barbies, and do special effects makeup. These were the joys that kept me company when I felt like an oddball; things out of the norm that made me feel normal.
Growing up we are told that once we turn eighteen we become legal adults- but what does it really mean to become an adult? If “growing up” has taught me anything, it is that adults are just big kids. There comes a transition where you begin to view your parents as people- recognizing how they were shaped throughout their own lives and how they shaped you. Growing up is understanding.
I have found myself growing with this collection, and it growing with me. When you look at this collection, I encourage you to relate elements of the pieces to your own nostalgia; allowing your inner child to run free and the work to grow with you too.
BRADLEY CANNON
I am Bradley Cannon, a designer, and maker with a passion for ethical consumption and production. I create leather goods, home decor, and other lifestyle accessories from natural and waste materials for all types of people and pets. I aim to solve issues within the fashion industry through material innovation, accessibility of information, and product development that doesn’t hurt the planet or her people.
BRENDAN BROOKS
I'm Brendan Brooks, a multidisciplinary artist working in the fields of digital art, graphic design, photography, and 3D art. Much of my photographic work is related to fashion production, fine art photography, and portraiture. I am currently studying photography at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, and work as an independent creative across various mediums.
FERNANDO GUTIERREZ
The work of Fernando Gutierrez is a reflection of the places he has seen, touched and lived in and the cultures that exist there. His artwork addresses the feeling of being a perpetual foreigner, leading him to a search for others who have felt the same, and as such he has been influenced by rebels, leftists, punks, poets and people who find themselves thoroughly out of place in the world around them. His work often highlights and addresses differences between hard and soft, light and dark, loud and quiet, old and new to create a sense of tension, conflict, and unfamiliarity within elegant design. His senior thesis is titled “Foreign Objects” and consists of a collection of objects meant to appear to come from an unknown place, the product of a developed cultural group outside the mainstream. A tribe for the alienated.
In an effort to create unique and innovative material finishes for this collection, Fernando developed a variety of object dyeing techniques produced by applying steel rust onto vegetable tanned leather and textiles. Following the collection’s debut, Fernando received the Graduate Fashion Week 2021 International Artifact Innovation Award in Materials and Embellishment.
HAILEY KASPER
I am a Fashion Photography Senior at the College for Creative Studies. Freelance Photographer and Photo Editor. My work was recently featured in Italian Vogues photo vogue for the second time this year. Some of my most recent work will be in the ‘The SHINE Project’ exhibition this October to help survivors ofdomestic abuse through sales of the photos and by donations to the LGBT Center Los Angeles. The SHINE Project sheds light on
issue of domestic violence in LGBTQ relationships. I have also been working hard this summer (2021) in New York City on two photography internships, MILK Located in Brooklyn, and Scheimpflug in Chelsea, Where I am assisting photographers on shoots, gaining knowledge on videography, learning numerous different lighting systems, preparing equipment for big time
photographers/artist, and learning the process of a photo equipment rental company. My goal is to become a fashion photographer for Vogue magazine.
ISABELLE FOTI
My name is Isabella Foti; I am a senior in Fashion Accessories with a minor in Fiber
Design at CCS Detroit. My main interests when I first started at CCS were clothing
design or costume design. I have now expanded my interests to accessories design,
woodworking, and metalworking. My overall goal is to create a brand that expresses
each of these skills and defines me as person.
My designs are usually based or related to nature in some way. I always love looking
at nature because there are so many inspirational things or ideas that can come
from it. I love being by water and have always been drawn to the ocean or the many
lakes like we have in Michigan. For my senior collection I chose to focus on water
being the main topic or theme. Liquid Labyrinth, is the name of the collection which
expresses intricate combinations of various shades and hues of the seas, patterns or
waves, branches of sea life and the challenge of defining an individual definition of
what makes up what we define the ocean to be what it is, as it is more than just
water. My collection will show how fabric can drape or take shape like a texture in
the ocean or flow like a wave. I decided to incorporate some of my knowledge that I
learned in fiber design to create different shapes and different colors. I wanted to
add some metal and bead working to my collection as well.
This topic is something that is a part of me and really defines me as a person. I am so
exciting to create this collection and I cannot wait to see it come to life and for
everyone else to see it as well!
JAC BLADOW
Jac's work focuses on LGBTQ+ empowerment and exploring the design process of researching, prototyping, and hand making leather goods from scratch. Mainly focusing on bags, harnesses, and footwear her work falls under the name DOVES and takes inspiration from fantasy worlds, fetish fashion, and nature.
JOSIE TEACHOUT
Josie Teachout, a Fashion Accessories Designer, Painter, Multimedia craftsman, and recent graduate from the College for Creative Studies. Josie thoroughly enjoys the art of provocative storytelling; enveloping her audience into a story that transports them, surprises them, and provokes an emotional response. In an effort to humanize design, the use of curious form, engaged color, and technical craft inspire Josie’s inquisitive nature. As an artist with a disposition to inventive design and form, Josie challenges conventional fashion through her thoughtful perspective, sculptural influence, and material manipulation.
KELSEY COLEMAN
Kelsey Coleman is a Detroit based designer, visual artist, and color/textile specialist with a BFA in accessory design and a minor in industrial design from the College for Creative Studies. Her creations blur the boundaries between modern and classic, expanding the possibilities of function, silhouette, and print.
LAUREN ZAMPAGLIONE
A recent graduate holds a BFA degree in fashion accessory design with a minor in product design and critical theory. Her design work is currently created in question of America’s sentiments of freedom and individual expression existing within capitalism. By often presenting her work with an ironic tone, she is able to seek more effective solutions to challenging power structures and creating consciousness through the use of art.
