Designer Profile 2023: Kristin Wu

For the second year in a row, I interviewed the lovely Kristin Wu about a techno-spiritualist collection for this year’s MODA show. Though always influenced by music, art, and technology, Kristin’s designs have significantly evolved since last year. Get a peek into the new collection below!

Introduce yourself!

I’m Kristin Wu. I’m a third-year studying computer science and media, arts, and design. I’m from Dallas, Texas. And I lowkey think there’s a bit of Texas influence in my designs this year, so that’s kind of fun!

What are three words that describe your collection?

I have this term called techno-spiritualism, which is what I use to describe the concept of what I wanted to convey. So, it’s this idea of technology being venerated almost to the point of being godly. I guess another word would be, sort of similar to last year where it’s post-apocalyptic. And then the third word would be like… camo is a big presence in my collection this year so I wanna say something with the word camouflage in it, so maybe as a descriptor, camo.

Who embodies your design?

The person I want to wear these looks I guess is someone that’s affiliated with the underground, DIY scene. I feel like that’s kind of fun and that’s where I got a lot of inspiration for my designs this year. It’s kind of, like I mentioned, the DIY stuff, where you don’t wear garments like they’re normally worn, or you customize your garments in a certain way. And that’s kind of the spirit of my collection this year. I also think like “show” fashion kind of, where it’s a lot more extravagant and showy is kind of the direction I’m pushing it to.

What or who are your inspirations or influences?

I said Errolson Hugh last year, I think. And he’s still a big influence but I don’t think he’s as influential on my collection this year. The thing about his style is that it’s very technically well done and it’s useful for a lot of different purposes. This is what I gathered from last year too, at the end of the last year when I was looking back at my collection: I think there’s something different about a runway and what I would wear in an everyday environment. I think Errolson errs on the side of what I would wear every day, but on a runway, I want to put out something more fun, more showy. Going back to who my design influences are this year, I think there’s this designer called Windowsen (https://shop.windowsen-official.com/). He does really cool stuff. It’s very in the queer space almost and then I would say there’s a strong rave influence a little bit too/ But it’s very extravagant, kind of showy stuff. Let me show you what I’m talking about. (Anna: It’s very club kid) Very Club Kid, yeah! (A: It’s quite different than what your influences were last year, I remember it was very utilitarian)

Are there any events or things you’re doing in your life that inspired this change in your designs from last year to this year?

I started going to underground music shows over the summer. I think that was really influential. You see a lot of young kids experimenting a lot with fashion and stuff which you don’t see as much when you’re just walking on the streets. So I think that was a big influence. And a slight shift in terms of what I like in music. I think a lot more of it aligns now with what this is.

Kristin’s sonic inspiration.

In terms of this change in style, is there a different way that you’re constructing your garments or the fabrics that you’re using?

Last year, I wanted to do something with nylon because that’s typically the fabric of techwear. This year, it’s much more like I’m playing with more textures and textures that I wouldn’t have gone to last year. So, I’m doing lace, camo, and denim, and this canvas kind of fabric. So, I’m experimenting more with layering textures and different types of fabric that are conventional, that you would wear every day, but also the designs on them and the way they’re going to be constructed is a little bit subversive.

I remember last year industrial techno and AI were a big thing for you. How do different types of media play into your designs?

[AI] not as much. Last year I wanted to do something that was extremely expressive of what surveillance could be and this year, I had this idea of what the future might look like and I wanted to play with that, versus a very clear articulation of what I thought a certain concern about technology was, which was AI and surveillance. This year is the techno-spiritualism thing, so the idea of venerating technology. And I guess the society I speculate my designs to be in is this post-apocalyptic society where everything is primitive again but you have technology as an artifact almost. So, in terms of dress, that’s where the camo comes in, where there’s still that primitive intention to blend in with your surroundings. But then it’s going to be accentuated by technology and hardware. So I’m doing metallic embellishments and stuff like that. I guess it’s the inverse of retro-futurism!

So this is your third year designing. What have you learned throughout your whole journey or some pieces of knowledge that you’ve gained?

Start early! That’s the big one. Also, you can’t out design your construction mistakes, so you have to start constructing your garment early on and prototyping, and once you start playing with the fabric and once you start actually sewing, seeing how the garment is going to look. I always have this intention of “oh, I know this is what I want to do and let me engineer it perfectly on paper,” and when I actually start constructing it, there’s a bunch of errors.

Do you have advice for first-time show attendees?

I think just have fun! That’s the whole point of the fashion show is that it’s not super serious. Especially the way that we do it, it’s a fun kind of way to interact with fashion and the more artistic side of fashion, the design side. It’s nothing serious like when you’re in an art museum and you have to be in very strict observance of all the pieces. Last year what we did was have designers by contrast. This year, I think we’re having more of a flow and we’re having the music go along with that. So it should be more of an interesting visual journey as you watch the entire fashion show through.

What is your favorite thing about being part of MODA or being a designer?

I don’t think I would have done sewing or fabrication stuff, in terms of clothes, otherwise. I was part of the DBC program my first year so that’s how I learned how to sew, so without MODA I wouldn’t have learned to sew at all. Being in the MODA community and being cognizantly aware of fashion more so has also influenced my own personal style and has made me more adventurous in terms of exploring fashion as a medium, and that’s really enjoyable and fun. So that’s my favorite part of being in MODA is exploring more fashion and being able to do the design side of it as well.

BONUS: Here’s an installation by the artist Ben Sang that influenced Kristin’s collection this year!