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NELSON
From Page 6B
ca - moved around a lot, and
her designs display her ability to
combine fashion influences from
all over the world. A short-sleeve
sweatshirt in the new collection
displays' her interpretation of a
Nigerian Ife bronze head. The
sculpture is made with ridges
pulled out in the sweatshirt to
make lines that cross over the left
shoulder. Where the lines end on
the back, she placed the number
"27,000,000" - the estimated
number of people forced into
slavery all over the world today.
"I want things to be not too
dense, but not too shallow," Nel-
son said of her clothing.
One of Nelson's personal favor-
ite pieces is a pair of brightpurple
and yellow high waist shorts. The
shorts feature details including
material-covered buttons and a
pull-away flap. On the inside of
the flap is a Maya Angelou quote:
"Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise that
I dance like I've got diamonds
at the meeting of my thighs?" A
small diamond image lies in the
cuff of the shorts.
"I'm first a graphic designer,
before a fashion designer," said
Nelson, who makes all of her
own patterns starting with hand-'
drawn sketches.
She then scans images - pho-
tographs, prints from art books or
handwritten messages - and uses
Adobe Photoshop and Illustra-
tor to make a final design before
screen-printing it onto plain fab-
rics like jersey.
"To succeed here, you really
need to push down the wall to
do what you want to do," Nelson
said.
She's proven that she's capable
of doing exactly that, and one can
only guess what she'll be up to
come May. But there's no doubt
that she'll keep producing origi-
nal creations and staying ahead
of fashion trends while always
stayingtrue to what's Beneeth.
STROKE
From Page 6B
a community - they keep a blog
on their website, which they use
for sharing art, music and fash-
ion links. By keeping the brand
locally based, STROKE has a
personal connection with its
customers.
According to Sulaka, STROKE
aims tobe "not justa label - more
like a movement."
SCHUMAKER
From Page 6B
her website, junimadethisforyou.
etsy.com, Schumaker features
designs that range from a long black
jacket with a gigantic hood to cuffs
with practical pockets that the
wearer could actually fitthings in.
"I got the idea (for the cuffs)
from a friend who kept losing his
guitar picks - like three or four a
day," she said. "I think pockets are
key and I also like drawstrings so
that people of all sizes can buy the
same garment. Versatility is really
important as well."
Using recycled vintage fabrics
is not only an economic move on
Schumaker's part, but also an envi-
ronmentally friendly one.
"I live in a co-op, and we're very
much into being sustainable - we
recycle and reuse a lot of things,"
Schumaker said.
One garment that's a prime
example of the designer's philoso-
phy of recycling and reusing is the
All Tied Up Skirt.
"Someone gave me a bunch of
neckties and I was trying to fig-
ure what I could do with them,"
she explained. "I started laying
them side by side and realized that
they're tapered like a skirt."
During school, Schumaker is
content working on new projects,
like a dress with about 30 different
pieces of fabric and lace in it.
"It's very piecy and fabulous -
I'm really excited about it," Schu-
maker said. "Some of (the design
style) is recreating, taking it a little
from here and there, and then put-
ting it all together. It's like a 'Fran-
ken-dress' I suppose."
With her focus on recycling and
versatility, Schumaker is commit-
ted to producing fashion that is
friendly to both the environment
and the consumer.
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