Build the world.
Concept research, narrative development, sketching, silhouette, and the eight-look collection plan.
← Back to Fashion WorkF-01 / PRATT INSTITUTE / THESIS COLLECTION / 2023
LUCIDDREAMING
As an independent fashion designer and creative director, I developed Lucid Dreaming from research, sketching, print and visual pattern development, and prototypes through final garments, model casting, runway preparation, and editorial.
PERIODJanuary - May 2023ROLEIndependent Designer + Creative DirectorSCOPECollection, Runway + Editorial
01 / COLLECTION OVERVIEW
Between control and surrender.
Lucid Dreaming explores the complex mental state of being half-awake and half-asleep. Drawing inspiration from the animated film Paprika, I created my own dream world and used butterflies as visual markers between dream and reality.
Exaggerated volumes, striking silhouettes, intricate layering, and experimental materials carry that world through every stage. I led the collection from early visual research and garment development to its runway presentation and final editorial direction.
04 PHASES / ONE COLLECTION
From first sketch to final image.
Make it physical.
Print and visual pattern development, material experiments, prototypes, construction, and final garments.
Prepare the collection.
Model casting, runway preparation, and the presentation of a coherent collection at Pratt's 2023 Fashion Show.
Direct the image.
Visual direction, photography and lighting brief, makeup direction, on-set decisions, and post-production approach.
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02 / FINAL COLLECTION
Eight looks, one visual language.
The lineup moves between close-to-body transparency and exaggerated volume, using repeated print, cutwork, and butterfly forms to hold the collection together.
Final collection lineup Open full size ↗03 / CONCEPT + VISUAL RESEARCH
BUILDING THE WORLD
Each layer represents a different world.
I focused on Paprika's layered dreams, the thresholds between them, and the blurriness, distortion, fragmentation, and dizziness that connect one level to another. I photographed myself using manipulated camera movement and lighting, printed the images on film, vellum, and gloss paper, then collaged and painted across the layers.
Concept board Open full size ↗04 / PRINT + MATERIAL SYSTEM
Positive space for reality. Negative space for dreams.
The prints began by layering butterflies with swirling patterns and blending the imagery until it felt half-awake and half-asleep. I then removed sections from overlapping forms, laser-cut those shapes from solid fabrics, printed them onto sheer materials, and tested different combinations of the two.
05 / SILHOUETTE DEVELOPMENT
FROM IMAGE TO BODY
Project the light, then extract the silhouette.
I projected the remaining negative-space cutouts onto a mannequin. Light passed through the fabrics and cast changing shapes across the body and walls, echoing the connections between layers of a dream. I documented the options, extracted silhouettes from the mannequin, and collaged them into garment forms.
06 / DESIGN RESOLUTION
The collection resolved as a connected lineup.
The sketch lineup brings the recurring volume, transparency, butterfly forms, and positive-negative surfaces into one complete sequence before final construction.
Sketch lineup Open full size ↗07 / SELECTED LOOK DEVELOPMENT
01
Transparency + volume
Development page Open full size ↗02
Projected surface
Development page Open full size ↗03
Graphic construction
Development page Open full size ↗04
Sculptural proportion
Development page Open full size ↗08 / RUNWAY PRESENTATION
Presented at Pratt Institute's 2023 Fashion Show.
Lucid Dreaming was presented as part of Pratt Institute's Fall 2023 graduate collections. The show and collection were documented by Vogue Runway and featured in coverage by Fashionista and Hypebeast.
Runway presentation Open full size ↗FEATURED ON
Selected runway coverage
09 / EDITORIAL
I built the world, then directed how it was seen.
I led the editorial from concept through final image direction. I set the visual language, shaped the photography and lighting brief, directed the makeup and overall image treatment, guided the shoot on set, and defined the post-production direction so every frame remained connected to the collection.
FASHION DESIGN + CREATIVE DIRECTIONKrys Guo
PHOTOGRAPHERBoyang Hu
MODELSCara Latoszewska & Tina Koveysha
MAKEUPHelen Wu
10 / CREATIVE DIRECTION + PRODUCTION
Building an immersive editorial world around the collection.
On set, I directed how the garments, models, light, projected color, and camera worked together. I collaborated with photographer Boyang Hu and makeup artist Helen Wu, reviewed images throughout the shoot, and shaped the final selects and retouching approach to preserve the collection's blurred, layered dream logic.
