ERA
Elizabeth Robinson Ayer
During the Summer of 2019, I was accepted into a design course at Parsons School of Design in New York City and eagerly I attended. We sketched from live models, used cutting-edge technology on campus, explored the immersing world of digital design, and were invited to several professional lead seminars. It was a transformative experience to say the least! Here are my final projects and behind the scenes fun from the course. I photographed all of the images below and had a tremendously exciting time designing, editing, and tweaking my designs to receive my second Parsons 4.0. Enjoy!
The following pictures are from my work with our project on Chinatown. After exploring Chinatown in NYC and researching Chinese culture itself, I chose to base my design off the lucky lantern as it guides the way home and symbolizes love and hope. The garment is made entirely of three lanterns and fringe from the ever so beloved company, Mood Fabrics. After a few days sketching and wrapping my head around how to wear a lantern, I moved to a mannequin and got creative. Once my garment was ready to leave the studio, I spent an afternoon photographing it myself, pictures I am proud of even 6 years later. And yes, it is impressive for my model, Denise, to have done so well given the reality of being in public during a NYC Summer wearing only three lanterns and some fringe.
The remaining pictures are from my second project, our "Thing from the Near Future" prompt. While my classmates followed technology trends, I did the exact opposite and was one of the only students who could actually make their invention as opposed to present hypothetical prototypes. I figured with the increase of Ai/tech-related lifestyles, there may be a decrease in the seemingly genuine. Nowadays when people are feeling down or have a moment of spare time, we unconsciously unlock our phones and while in doing so, short term dopamine levels increase, the snowball effect comes into play and we get even further away from ourselves, the present, and hope of peace without distraction. With blue leather in honor of mental health awareness and a lot of handy work and patience in the woodworking room, I designed lockets to fill the otherwise "scroll void." Maybe one day I will take these prototypes to market!
Circa 2019