Gabriella Jayes

(Don’t) Look at Me

The story behind my collection is the idea of a person wanting to be seen yet wanting to be hidden at the same time from fear of being at the center of attention with all eyes on them. The clothes I designed highlight this conflicting tension by the revealing of bare skin, contrasting with the big and comforting shapes paired with the sparkly textiles. I created sheets of material made up of multiple repeated individual units, which are connected together in different ways and also sometimes broken. By doing this I tried to express the feelings of an individual who feels trapped by society. Some of the textiles are made from paper with a mirror-like appearance. The person wearing the garment gets a feeling of safety thanks to the effect that is created by the mirrors. The textile turns the attention away from the wearer, to the garment, the surroundings or back to the viewer. Materials: Paper with mirror-like appearance, Sympatex- non-slip mat, tulle fabric, polyester fabric, silk-like fabric, plisse fabric, viscose fabric. Techniques: Cutting, connecting, and weaving with paper, draping, taking mats apart and re-connecting by weaving, covering mats with fabric, handmade plisse. Mentor: Yael Taragan