The UW-Madison Style Guru team is a diverse one and I'd like to think that's why we make a great, balanced team. We have Style Gurus studying different majors, including Communication Arts, Journalism and, like myself, Textile and Apparel Design (TAD). A lot of students on campus don't know about the major and I will say it is probably because our intense program is quite small.
Being a Textile and Apparel Design student is much different than being, say, a business or sociology major. Our homework isn't anywhere in the ballpark of writing papers or studying for any exams.
On that note, I'd love to introduce to you all to Caroline Elizabeth Wilson, a native of Avon, Conn. She is a junior studying Textile and Apparel Design. This is her fourth semester writing for CollegeFashionista and she's taking us inside her world as an aspiring fashion designer.
Lucy Angel: How would you describe your personal style?
Caroline Wilson: My personal style is a mix of lacy and old-fashioned clothing like Victorian-inspired jackets and also mod, ‘60s-style pieces. I love color and I'd say that I dress pretty girly, because I almost always wear skirts and just don't find pants as comfortable!
LA: When did you become interested in fashion?
CW: My mother fostered my love of clothing design because she taught me to sew at an early age by making American Girl doll dresses with me.
My interest in dressing up and planning my outfits came from her, too. She taught me to put care into picking out and coordinating what I was going to wear for the day.
I also used to play dress up in the costumes in our basement, which helped me to learn to be very imaginative and creative with fashion and clothing.
Ever since elementary school, I dreamed of being a fashion designer even though I obviously didn't know what it all entailed back then. I just knew it was fun to draw clothing!
I think I discovered the real world of high fashion through my mom's Vogue magazines and also through my sister who told me that I could easily look up designers' collections on websites like style.com. I remember how excited I was in middle school to discover that Teen Vogue existed and how I would plan my outfits around photographs in the magazine.
LA: As a Textile and Apparel Design student, how is your workload different than the average UW-Madison student?
CW: I have a few big projects, and therefore long nights, all around the same time a few times each semester. In each design studio class, there are two or three big projects and then a final project that's heavily weighted. I really like having fewer lectures and written exams because I am much more of a hands-on and project-based kind of learner.
It's hard though, because during the time before finals week I'm always working hard to finish final projects that are due on the last day of class. Everyone else has some free time until they need to study and take exams, but I can't do anything fun with them! Then when they are taking exams for the last week, I have all of this free time, so it's just hard to see friends in other majors before the semester ends.
LA: What types of projects are you currently working on in your classes?
CW: In my apparel design class, we're working on a black and white design project with architecture as the inspiration.
I chose to focus on Tudor architecture for mine, so I'm interested in using a lot of lines in the designs or fabric choices to mimic the style of black and white Tudor houses.
We just learned Adobe Illustrator, and had to come up with 40 designs in just a few days for the project, both on the computer and by experimenting on small half-sized mannequins.
LA: What do you look to for inspiration when creating a garment?
CW: Like most designers, I love looking to the past for inspiration. I most adore the Medieval period, the Colonial period, the Regency period, the Victorian and Edwardian periods and the 1960s and 1970s. I think I'm more extreme in my interpretation of history than most however, since I want to be a costume designer someday. I enjoy telling stories through clothing.
LA: UW has a lot of fashion filled events coming in the next few months such as the MODA Fashion Week event and the ESCAPE Fashion Show. Will we be seeing some of your designs in them?
CW: Yes! As a junior in the TAD program, I get upperclassman status and I get to make pieces for the show in my apparel design class. As long as the runway jury accepts them, I'll have several garments in the show.
It's exciting that it's finally time for my year of TAD students to get to show our work on the runway because we've mostly watched the older students do the show the past couple of years! I've been waiting for this since I was accepted into the design program.
At the MODA event during UW Fashion Week, I'll have about five garments in the runway show. I showed four when they had an event at Segredo last spring, which was a fantastic experience, because it was such a wide variety of designers and we all had different aesthetics. This time around I know that it will be an even bigger event because there is a rap group set to perform, too!
LA: What type of designs can we look forward to seeing from you?
CW: I'm still designing for this spring's ESCAPE show, but I think I'm going for a more dramatic aesthetic with lots of historical influences from other centuries, such as the Tudor architecture influence that I mentioned previously.
In the MODA show I'm showing my ‘60s side with mod pieces that pop and have a lot of color. I even have a piece made out of Campbell's chicken noodle soup labels! I've always wanted to do some really vivid ‘60s clothing. It's a lot different than last time in the MODA show because my inspiration was Medieval dress.
LA: Who's your favorite designer?
CW: Anna Sui is my favorite designer because she always picks some of my own personal favorite inspirations for her designs, whether it is Pre-Raphaelite paintings such as those by John William Waterhouse or the 1960s and 1970s. I adore her use of color and how she mixes prints; she isn't afraid to make clothing that stands out. Her designs can be crazy, but are still very wearable.
Other labels and designers that I admire include Christopher Bailey for Burberry, Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, and the Mulleavy sisters of Rodarte.
LA: What's your number one tip for UW-Madison students so that they can stay fashionable around campus?
CW: Don't ever leave your apartment in sweatpants unless you are on your way to the gym!
LA: Why do you think CF is great to have on campus?
CW: I love being able to easily see what other people at my own school are wearing, without needing to sit on State Street in sunglasses and people watch for fellow Fashionistas/os, though that is a lot of fun too.
It's interesting to note the trends around campus and see what the perspective of different Style Gurus are on what students are wearing.
In the future, it will be a lot of fun to look back on all of our articles and remember what fashion was like at UW-Madison when we attended!
It's also a lot of fun when a Style Guru shoots someone you know and you see them on the site. In addition, it's enjoyable to see how excited or flattered your featured Fashionista/os are when you first approach them on the street because they had no idea they would be stopped when they got ready that morning!
Make sure to read Caroline's column, "Fashionista/o Spotlight" on University of Wisconsin's page on CollegeFashionista.com. For style news on campus, follow us on Twitter @CFUWisconsin.
