| Emma Gleason |
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Emma Gleason spent her final year of her Bachelor of Design (Fashion) exploring high-end women’s apparel in a daily-life orientated context. Her aesthetic is centered on the wearability and purpose of clothing – featuring a relaxed silhouette and sense of comfort but also a crispness in the textiles, and high quality finishing and construction. Although her range sits in a high end market, the emphasis on purpose and function makes her work thoroughly wearable. Gleason’s design process has been specifically informed by the domestic climate and the unique nature of the New Zealand lifestyle. She draws inspiration from both history and contemporary culture and has a particular fascination with the development and context of occupational clothing, uniforms and the exploration of clothing itself. Gleason also feels there is importance in the role clothing plays in our lives and this manifests itself in her design work. Colour and its power to influence emotion and appeal is also a large part of her work. Her design process is informed strongly by fabric and functional details whilst being shaped by the nuances of patternmaking and subtlety of perfecting fit. Gleason’s interest in the historical and contemporary context of clothing and the events that have shaped the development of it stems from her background interest in European and American history and art. Although she grew up in Australia, a strong family heritage of European immigrants to America informs a large portion of her handwriting as a designer. Likewise a sartorial family status-quo has also been a strong influence on exploring garments that have a sense of purpose and integrity. This has all informed her personal ideology that clothing is an integral part of one’s daily life and deserves respect and gravity for the role it plays – ideology that she aims to express through her design work.
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