Fashion Design
Laragh Ryan
Passports, Lifejackets and Lemons
My collection is a statement and a voice for the hundreds of thousands of Syrian Refugees who have fled their home and country in an attempt to bring safety and control back into their lives. The six pieces each tell a segment of the story; the first garments start out heavy and weighted as they begin their journey, carrying as much as they can bring from home and the last garments are distorted, deconstructed and a lot lighter as they end the journey overseas. Just as the refugees’ lives get turned upside down as they go through kidnappings, rapes and beatings, so do the garments. Jackets start falling apart, baggage is lost, clothes are ripped, and the garments start contorting themselves; turning upside down and going into non-conventional areas of the body. I have used deconstruction as a technique to portray the loss of hope and hardship endured on their journeys. I translated the objects Syrians would use on their journey into my fabrics, for example; heavy wools are representative of blankets, eclectic brocades of their prayer mats and lighter cotton canvases and wools represent the clothes they wore. Closer to the end of the story is the introduction of gold – the same colour as the tinfoil many are wrapped in upon arrival at their destination. Through stand-work, a contemporary take on pattern drafting and technical deconstruction along with colours that remind me of searing hot deserts and treacherous seas I hope to communicate the story of these refugees.
Work Experience: Farrah Floyd, Berlin