Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) fashion student Taryn Southard combines nature and city to create a poetic juxtaposition through her collection.
The Tsawwassen resident will unveil her line, Undulate, over six shows at the Imperial Vancouver on Wednesday, April 5 and Thursday, April 6.
"Since I was 12 years old, I knew I wanted to be a fashion designer," said Southard. "I'm so thrilled that after four exhausting, yet amazing years of school, I will get to see my designs featured on the runway."
Southard developed Undulate as her final project in the fashion and design technology program at the Wilson School of Design at KPU, which provides students with a rigorous studio-based design education. The capstone project involves extensive market and design research, requiring students to create garments that meet a market need.
Southard saw a need for people to slow down and reflect on life, with poetry playing a key role in the reflection process. Each garment has its own guiding story written as a poem. Natural hand dyeing and painting were used to illustrate contradictions between nature and the urban landscape.
"Ultimately, my collection became a whimsical narrative of a young woman bored with an A to B lifestyle, so she leaves in the night and searches for meaning within the universe," said Southard.
After graduation, Southard intends to open up a design studio with her twin sister, Sierra.
"It's been a dream of ours since we were kids to create a clothing brand together," she said.
