Designer Profile 2022: Ally Cong

Recently, I had the pleasure of interviewing one of the amazing designers for MODA’s 2022 fashion show. Ally Cong is a fourth year double majoring in Economics and EALC. Outside of MODA, she is part of AKΨ, a board member for campusCATALYST, and a barista at Hallowed Grounds. This is her third and final year designing for the annual fashion show. This is what she had to say:

Tell me about your overall design process, from idea to making the real thing.

I feel like I don’t have as much of a design process as I’m constantly looking at expensive clothes that I can’t afford, but really like. So those are like the beginning of my design process. And then I’ll go from there and, not necessarily try to recreate them, but take bits and pieces that are appealing to me and try to work them into a super novice, “beginner” design type of product. I also don’t necessarily have proper training in sewing technique, so it’s whatever I can make work, and I like to look at it as more of an experimental process than actually doing patterns and then cutting out the prints and then making them like a normal designer would. So, I think that’s mostly my design process.

Who or what would you say inspires you the most in creating your work?

There’s a two-pronged answer to this. The first one is: I definitely feel a lot of pressure to not do badly. And I know that’s not necessarily a good thing, but I like creative projects because you have a lot of agency over your own work, but that belief system also puts a lot of extra pressure on me, I think, because I feel like I want to do a really good job. That’s one aspect of it. And the other one, I think, inspiration-wise, I really admire people with confidence and I feel like you see a lot of that, even in MODA, and in the larger fashion world. And, so, I like, not necessarily to have my pieces look the same, but to recreate that energy from a lot of designers, and a lot of models and influencers and people around me who are happy, proud, and confident in what they wear. In terms of actual definitional inspiration, I really like a lot of things, and the things I like the most I feel like my clothing doesn’t look like what that looks like. But I really like the way that Dion Lee and a lot of these newer designers who are more focused on clean-cut, “technically clean” looks. I really like them and, as a result, I kind of want my designs to look like them.

How would you describe this collection?

The way it’s panning out is to have two separate looks that look alike, so I’m doing 4 in total. I’m having 2 that are more cohesive and then the other two that are separate from the first ones, but cohesive with each other. One will be more preppy-bohemian, for lack of better words. The other 2 will be very similar to what I’ve made in the past, which is like, super simple, super clean-cut. Like, not very loud, but hopefully more interesting in other ways. And a lot of neutrals, as always.

What was the main thing you kept in mind in designing and creating it?

I think a lot of the time I’m just really motivated if I don’t mess up. I think the energy of MODA is really special because there’s nothing else really like it. There’s a thousand kids who go out to see their classmates and what they’ve made. My second year, my first time designing for MODA was so exciting. On the other hand, I was so nervous going up until that moment where the clothes were coming out. But it’s a good “don’t-mess-up” type of energy.

I also just don’t get that many chances to create. I’m not a Visual Arts major, all my art core classes have been art history, but I do enjoy that process. So this is one of the only chances I have that is not purely recreational– it is an extracurricular that I take very seriously. I just want to make sure I do well. But, in, like, the most positive way.

What was the hardest part in creating it? What was the most rewarding?

I think in many ways designing clothing is always hard every step of the process, so I don’t want to make it seem like one thing was hard and everything else was easy. But for me, I always come across this problem where there’s literally a whole world of opportunities. Like, when you’re creating something that comes from your own imagination, it’s easy for me to get stuck in all the things I could do, because, eventually, you’ll have to pick a certain thing and stick with it, and then everything else is unrealized. There’s always that potential it could have been a way better piece of clothing, or that you could have been way prouder of it. The actual thinking about what you wanna do and what’s gonna be made, and the limits of your actual skill level is always very difficult for me.

What do you see yourself doing with your next collection?

A lot of the pressure that exists for me with MODA is that I want to make sure that this opportunity that’s been given to me isn’t given in vain. My next collection, obviously, won’t be a part of MODA since I’ll be graduating, and I feel like I’ll have more freedom to do super simple pieces that I could wear outside and incorporate into my wardrobe, which is exciting to me in a different way. I really want to get more into technical sewing, and actually make it into a legitimate hobby of mine, because MODA’s been pushing me to continue sewing for the past 3 years. When I enter the workfield, I’m gonna need things to stop myself from going crazy, and I really want to make sewing one of those things. My next collection is probably going to be learning how to emulate independent streetwear designers , in like the sweatpants and sweatshirts and T-shirts, graphic, screen-printed T-shirts. I’m kind of looking at what I can do as an individual instead of as a part of MODA.

If you could give advice to someone looking to start designing their own collections, what would you say to them?

I’d say that designing collections looks very different to a lot of people. For some, that’s more similar to painting, because they’re painting on Hanes T-shirts, or cutting up old, thrifted stuff to rework them into one-of-a-kind pieces. And I think that’s just as valid as a collection that’s making everything from scratch. It’s really as hard or as simple as you make it, but sometimes the simplest things are the most impressive. There’s honestly nothing else to do except go for it, and I think it's a really great way to express yourself, so I highly suggest that everyone at least apply to MODA.