Faith Chavez

EBLA

Faith Chavez is a final year Textile Design student whose project encapsulates the warm feeling of her grandmother's home in Ecuador and evokes memories from her distant home.

Textile Design - BA (Hons)

Give us a brief overview of your project

My project, EBLA, is a cultural celebration of my Ecuadorean heritage and a personal attempt to connect with my roots though fashion, print design and embroidery.

Why did you choose this concept?

Exploring my culture in my art is something I’ve always been really passionate about doing. I wanted to use my time at university to create a personal project in response to the feelings I have experienced from being far from my home, feelings such as loneliness and a confused sense of belonging. I also want to tackle the lack of representation for Latin people within the fashion and textiles industry by putting myself and my work out into the world. My project is the beginning of the process to creating my own fashion brand, using my bespoke textile outcomes I have created in this collection.

What processes have you been using?

In order to mix my passions for textiles and fashion, I start on the body, using the mannequin to drape my fabrics, being creative with my movement and volume around the body. I then use this manipulation to inform my print outcomes by pinning my gathers in place and printing on top through either sublimation or open screen. All my motif and print designs have been inspired by my home in Ecuador, specifically my grandmother’s house, and they have all been hand painted with love and care.

What do you hope to achieve with your project?

I hope this collection opens an opportunity for me to develop my own brand. I want to create my own business plan and develop this concept further beyond university. I think that my collection and concept fills a gap in the market of luxury fashion for Latin American owned and inspired products. I also hope this collection can connect with other members of the Latin community, who unite in similar feelings of misplacement and enable them to feel reconnected with their own sense of belonging through my work.

How has your course helped you to prepare for working on your project?

Throughout my project, I've had great support from my head of course tutor, Dilusha. He has helped me to discover new methods of design and given me the inspiration and confidence to push my project further into what it is now, and he has also given me the space to explore my love for fashion and helped me to combine it with textiles. Within the workshops, having the support of Kavita in the print room has been amazing, really putting my every need first and making sure I have everything I need to really develop my work.