Life Style

Cid Leif

Parsons sophomore
Miami, Florida
19 years old

“ Fashion is my forever evolving cell of self-expression. It has allowed for all sorts of experimentation with the body by being able to work with different prints, style lines and silhouettes. For me, fashion has also become a gravitational pull towards the study of art. In my perspective, the translation of different fine art disciplines has been extremely influential to the creation of everything in fashion and its production. It has given me the ability to envision works of art transformed into garments and accessories. For me it is essential to have a harmonious balance of the visual and emotional part in producing fashion.”

Cid’s collection: In envisioning my collection, Brisees Portails (broken portals), I made reference to Anish Kapoor’s experimentation with reflective surfaces. While he works with expanding spaces, sometimes it is hard to make out if what you see in the reflection. I find it interesting that he produces these organic shapes and places them in the most structured and well calculated environments, mainly cityscapes. With that idea in mind, I considered producing harshly structured garments for the exterior and contrasting them with soft shapeless silhouettes beneath. Working with such polar aesthetics that have characterized Kapoor’s work inspired a whirlpool of possibilities and immense energy to realize a ready to wear for Fall/Winter 2010.

What excites you most about Fusion? As a previous Fusion participant, I have one of the most genuine and memorable experiences with me and it has brought me back for more. Fusion allows personal ideas or design energy to reveal themselves through garments. The experience I had alone in creating my own collection and the time spent with other designers from Parsons and F.I.T. served as fuel to being as emotionally and visually in tune with myself. I would hope that participating a second time around for Fusion I could introduce a more well-shaped vision all the while enjoying the influence of company of others by my side once more. Fusion is definitely my road to self discovery as a designer.