MODA Designer Profile: Ella Anderson
I’m Ella Anderson, a second-year pre-med student majoring in Art History. I am also the co-visual design editor for MODA Magazine and volunteer with Art Is.
What are some sources of inspiration?
John Singer Sargent’s Carnation Lily, Lily Rose and Bernini’s Apollo and Daphne. I’m an art history major and those two works represent the fields I am most interested in. Though I haven’t formally decided my specialization, it’s most likely going to be on Baroque Roman sculpture. There’s so much energy and emotion in those sculptures that is rare in contemporary art. Carnation Lily, Lily Rose is, of course, completely different but it has always been my favorite painting. It’s so luminous, and instantly relatable, and accessible in a way that Bernini’s work isn’t necessarily, so I love the conversation the two pieces create when juxtaposed. They represent essentially the most distilled form of beauty, so when I signed up to design for the show (which was on completely a whim) it was clear that whatever I designed would, in some ways, be referential to those works.
Have you ever done fashion design work before? Most challenging and rewarding aspects of the process?
I haven’t done any fashion design work before, but I know how to sew, and really the entire process is extremely intuitive. I’m very visual, so it’s easy to picture a shape of a piece of clothing, and just have a base intuition for how to make it from the fabric. Going into it, I thought that I would make patterns for the pieces, but it hasn’t really unfolded that way. I take exact measurements, of course, but after making a pattern for the first thing I cut, I didn't use it at all so I abandoned that method.
I think I’ve found this 3D visualization easy because I have experience with sculpture making - on my gap year I spent several months in Italy learning how to carve marble and make portrait busts just by eye - so I’m very comfortable with 3D forms at this point. I think the main challenge is just to be patient and methodological at all times. If you try to rush it it doesn’t work. The most rewarding part of the process is definitely to try it on and have it look as envisioned.
What are you looking forward to most about the show?
It’s such a fun night that gives everyone the opportunity to dress up. All of the designers have completely different styles so it’s really cool to see so many viewpoints come down the runway.
Who do you have in mind when you’re designing?
Really only myself. I’m making two looks for the show that are completely my style and things I would wear around. My style is essentially the antithesis of streetwear - I like simple pieces and can’t stand ‘logomania’. I tend to care more about longevity - I hate the concept of only wearing something once so that’s also a big part of what I think about. My designs aren’t flashy, so perhaps to some they’ll be boring, but I’m perfectly ok with that. I don’t think it needs to be an in your face statement - I think my subliminal motto throughout this has been to keep it “quietly lovely"
What’s your favorite aspect of the design process?
Definitely the actual construction. Designing is somewhat fun but, for me, sewing is the best part. It becomes much more of an art in my opinion. There are so many invisible details that go into it - like using a French seam, which is time consuming and difficult to execute yet doesn’t contribute to the overall idea of a piece - which I think make it more of an interesting process. It’s all about making decisions of specific techniques and micro-designs to form the broad picture. This is incredibly cliche, but to me it’s very much a process of pointillism.
Photographs courtesy of Angela Liu
