Designer Profile 2023: Sahana Gopalan

Jan 22

Jan 22 Designer Profile 2023: Sahana Gopalan

Sahana is a third-year at the college and MENG major. This is her third year designing and her second year as a Design Director for the show. Her collection this year is an exploration of time spent with family in India last fall.

What are three words that describe your collection?

Feminine, joyful, sincere.

Who embodies your design? Where do imagine your clothes being wore?

In a lot of ways, this collection was inspired by my grandmother and to an extent by the other women in my family. I don’t think I have an occasion where I’d see these clothes being worn, but I always imagine them somewhere warm and sunny.

Tell me more about your garments, whether it’s construction, fabric choice, or others.

This year, I did my fabric shopping in India in the summer— so before I had a concrete idea of what I wanted my designs to look like. It was really cool to let the fabric choice kind of guide my design. Another big goal of mine this year is better construction as well, so it’s been nice to try and be more meticulous and detail oriented with my sewing.

What are your inspirations or influences?

This summer due to some family circumstances I ended up spending about 5 weeks in India unexpectedly. It’s the first time I feel like I’ve been there as an adult, and I think it gives you a lot of perspective. I also spent a lot of time with the women in my family: my aunts, my cousins, and my grandma, and I feel like I got to truly know them for the first time. I also thought a lot about how much women just adjust to make things work. More than that, something that was really beautiful was that no matter the age, some people have so much spirit that they find so much joy in things like shopping, fabric, or jewelry, and it’s really beautiful to see that kind of enthusiasm for life.

I’m not a designer that really leans into femininity, and I think fashion has become a lot more androgynous in general in recent years. But this year I kind of wanted to do something outside my comfort zone, so I’m really trying to lean into the idea of hyperfemininity. For me, this comes from the angle of being carefree and feeling joy that’s almost childish or youthful in nature— even as an adult— or living a life as a woman that may have been socially or culturally limiting in some ways.

Looking back at your design journey with MODA, what have you learned? What are you focusing on this year?

I think one of the biggest things I’ve learned is how to be innovative, or to learn how to execute what I want even if the methods can get pretty unconventional. I think I’ve also gotten a lot better at translating the abstract thoughts and concepts I had into my designs. This year I’m really focusing on each look being an experience in its entirety, including the hair, makeup, and other details I would usually just leave up to the model’s discretion/personal taste.

Fashion advice for first-time show attendees?

Nothing specific— but definitely dress up since there’s lots of spots/opportunities for good photos!

What is your favorite thing about the show? What is your least favorite?

My favorite thing about the show is having the audience experience. After so long working on your looks primarily in isolation, it’s so great to have the energy of a crowd and tons of people seeing your work. It’s also great for me, as a Design Director, to see all of the designers get together and have people appreciate them. I see how hard they work individually behind the scenes, and it’s really cool to see it come together.

My least favorite part of the show (but it’s also fun) is that it can get super chaotic! This is stressful as a design director, but also I think a really important part of the show experience.

Do you plan on designing again?

Yes!

Is there anything new about this year’s show thats excites you?

I’m really excited since we have a lot of new designers. A lot of really talented designers have graduated or couldn’t come back this year, but a lot of our new designers are doing stuff related to fashion technology, cultural fashion, or social commentary related to their designs. I wouldn’t say any of this is completely new, but there’s a lot to look forward to in the show from this angle.

How has your role as one design director changed your experience designing?

It’s definitely motivated me to stay on track. Just because of how many design-director related tasks there are to do, and also because I’m in charge of helping designers stay on schedule for the show. It’s made me more deadline conscious.

Other than that, being a design director really gives you a look into the thought process each designer puts into their collection, since this is something we discuss when designers apply. It’s really humbling to see firsthand how talented designers are and how much depth goes into what they make. The creativity of other designers was something that I was kind of unaware of as a first year. For a while it was really intimidating, but now it’s just super inspiring and motivates me to be a better designer.