#Meettheartist
Meet fashion designer Brianna Moon. Brianna will be sharing her one of kind sustainable looks from her Fall/Winter Collection at The Fourth annual Art to Table Benefit for Hera Gallery January 24 at the Narragansett Towers.
Tell us a little about you….
If you were to ask my family when I started making clothes, they all would say the same thing. At the age of 3, I began cutting up and tying bandanas together to make new clothes for my dolls. As an only child, I would accompany my grandmother to the dry cleaners that she previously owned with my grandfather when he was alive, then continued to work at until she was 95. My grandmother and her sisters played an integral role in my love of clothing. Perhaps it was how even at an elderly age these strong Italian women never stopped dressing for themselves. They would sit at my aunts kitchen table drinking coffee and eating cake in heels and pearls. My grandmother was the sportiest one out of them all. She was the first lady in Silverlake to wear pants. Back in her day she was a trendsetter, groundbreaker and by far the most influential part of my life because of her strength and courage.
My most prevalent memories from my youth are the times I sat watching my grandmother hand sew and press all the garments at the cleaners. From a young age color, silhouette, patterns and family pictures captivated me in many ways. I truly believe that my deep love for styling, thrifting vintage, and reusing was directly related to the economical bracket my family fell into. Every female worked hard for what they had, they did not have much but they took care of every piece, wore secondhand and accessorized.
As I got older, pushing my nose in the newest issue of Harpers Bazaar or Vogue allowed me to escape from normal teenage years and anxieties. There is a quote that by Andy Warhol that stands out to me and explains me as a young adult, “I never read, I just look at the pictures.” For me, I had severe anxiety and ADHD so I could never sit down long enough to read but the images and styling is what always stuck in my head. I always knew that textiles would play a huge part within my life because feeling the hand of fabric would get my mind racing. When I graduated from high school I attended URI and received two degrees, a Bachlor of Science in Textiles, Merchandise and Design with a focus in Apparel Design and a Bachlor of Arts in Art Studio with a focus in Figure Drawing and Portraiture. During my time in university I worked as a make up artist. This helped me mesh my love of drawing and fashion together. I spent one summer interning at Harpers Bazaar in NYC and the following summer studying Fashion in Lyon, France. When I returned I dedicated my time to designing and constructing custom one of a kind pieces under my own name for Style Week. The rush I got from creating these works of art was unlike any other but I was young and wanted to experience life more so I took the next step and moved to NYC.
During my time in NYC I wore many hats but most of my time was spent working as an assistant putting together runway shows and installations for some of the biggest names in fashion. I had a wonderful time while it lasted but realized that I missed the one thing that had inspired me from the start and that was my family, so I moved back home where I fell into the jewelry industry. I worked my way within the industry to make a name for myself with the hopes and dreams of one day running my own place. I started from the bottom again, I learned, I thrived, I worked endless hours all while selling vintage in my spare time… and that is when Brianna Moon began. My tiny store in Hope Artiste Village is a mix of curated eclectic vintage apparel and accessories, upcycled designs and handmade jewelry by me.
How/When did you become interested in sustainable fashion?
Like I previously answered, growing up, my
time outside of school was spent at the cleaners my grandmother worked at. I remember watching her mend countless items of clothing and when I was old enough she taught me how to sew by hand. Any tricks I know now I learned from her. I remember looking through the conveyer belt of dry
cleaned clothing and becoming mesmerized
by the endless supply of textiles. From a
young age, everything I made was constructed from something else, usually the lost items from the cleansers. Although it started as a means of convenience, it eventually turned into something much bigger.
What was the first sustainable piece of fashion that you made?
The first piece of clothing I showed on a runway was my sophomore year of high school. La Salle Academy held an annual fashion show where I showed an ecofriendly gown constructed from my grandmother’s vintage nightgowns and my old dance costumes. At 14 going through puberty, I was on edge and never wanted to be bothered, but I distinctly remember sitting in my kitchen hand sewing for hours hoping that anyone and everyone would ask me what I was doing. That’s when I knew I wanted to create for the rest of my life.
Why is sustainable fashion important to you and the planet?
The rise of social media completely changed the consumption of fast fashion worldwide. No longer is it only celebrities who are selling us a lifestyle and trend it is every influencer on instagram, facebook, tumblr and pinterest. Personally, it was challenging to not get wrapped up in feeling that I always need the next best thing, but it is something I work towards everyday. I truly feel the more time we all take to learn about the effects fast fashion has on our planet, the more conscious we will be with consumption. It is not one of our faults, we are all guilty but the most important thing is for all of us to do our part. As a society, we are so far removed from the production process, for example the toll the environment takes from dye baths. The older I get, the more I feel a need to educate myself on where everything I purchase comes from and how it is made. What this really means is rejecting fast fashion and investing in ethically sustainable produced items.
The designs that I will be showing will be a Fall/Winter collection combining handmade accessories, daywear and eveningwear. Everything is made from deadstock fabric, vintage garments and vintage components. My SPRING/SUMMER designs always end up being brightly colored pops of art, while my FALL/WINTER designs tend to be more subdued, darker and more bohemian. This collection was exciting for me because I truly feel that I have come into myself creating these one of a kind pieces. I took a different stance and really thought of my comfort zone by working with different texture, patterns and colors. I am most excited for the headpieces I made for my models, the jacket I constructed with “Hera” and the one size fits most quilted floral coat that I constructed from a vintage blanket.
For Information on Art to Table or to purchase tickets for the event visit:
Comments