BLADE DANCERS

THESIS COLLECTION

Lookbook images above photographed by Tanaya Henson

Editorial images below photographed by Tiff Cheung

Photo/lighting assistant: Marc Stier

General assistant: Sophie Curlee

Jewelry Designer: Zoa Chimerum Jewelry & Yuru Chen

Beauty: Mo Zhou, Tracy Zhang, & Sue Sima

Look 1 Model: Sue Sima & Analise England

Look 2 Model: Molly Vasileva

Look 3 Model: Jordan Wang

Look 4 Model: Sophia Spagna & Sue Sima

Look 5 Model: Azaria Van Der Stok

Look 6 Model: Sue Sima & Zoe Ubamadu

Blade Dancers

With this collection, I created an alternate world where my Blade Dancers–human, robot, or cyborg–assert full bodily autonomy and ownership of their desires. Inspired by the art of pole dancing, my collection parallels humans and machines with the body and the pole. The body – warm, flexible, and malleable. The pole – cold, rigid, and fixed. Working in contrasting methods of intuitively draped knits and deliberately cut patterns, I walked the line between human and machine. Facing the potentially dystopian impacts of AI and robotics as an artist, my debut collection leverages the intimidating potential of growing technologies while nurturing a deeply human artistic touch.

1. Spotlight dress – knit, draped, and hand-sewn halter slip dress with epaulet and ties wrapped at neck and waist. Loose single bed machine knit with hand-knitted purls, gold metallicized polyester, and blood red perle mercerized cotton.

2. Temptress dress – symmetrically knit and hand-sewn corded intestinal knit-wrapped wearable sculpture. Low gauge single bed machine knit with visceral hand manipulations. Tangerine, burgundy, mauve, and lavender yarns, with malleable foam and aluminum understructure.

3. Dancer dress – liquid metal bias-cut slip dress with thigh-high slit and blood-red exaggerated crocheted sculptural jewelry. Soft exterior with hard interior: foam clay encases aluminum.

4. Warrior suit – high-neck crimson lambskin plated bodysuit with snap-on sculptural pockets and segmented trains. Hard and soft lambskins, aluminum understructure.

5. Blade suit - obsidian under-bust lambskin corset bodysuit with soft knit bust spikes. Plated leather hip structures rest on detachable boned flared pants with knee-high knit inserts. Hard and soft lambskins, single-bed knit silver metallicized polyester.

6. Cyborg suit - plated crimson leather epaulet snapped onto segmented tie-on android sleeves with flame-textured knit and draped armor dress. Lambskin, perle mercerized cotton, monofilament, merino wool.

Pole as Armor

Two pieces of pole-inspired performance wear, with armor being both an aesthetic and emotional motif.

Photographed by Tiff Cheung

Set and Jewelry Design by Won Hwang

Hair and assistance by Zoey Li

Garments and makeup by Sue

Modeled by Sue

Fall 2022

Jieyu Chair
Apparel/Furniture Collaboration

The Jieyu Chair is a performative seat; its traditional Han garment upholstery unveils itself as the user stands, leaving only the chair's skeletal frame. Embedding a unique cultural memory, it draws narratives from the poetry of Jieyu Ban, symbolizing historic Chinese female experiences within royal households. The performative process involved in activating the piece dismantles past narratives, replacing them with an alternative story shaped by contemporary female perspectives.

Photographed by Tiff Cheung

Garment by Sue

Chair frame by Mia Wang

Fall 2024