Althea Williamson Portfolio

Althea Williamson is a third-year Fashion Design student at Parsons School of Design, I have a passion for designing and constructing collections and garments. I’ve been designing for 5 years and making for 3 years. I have experience with hand sewing, hand embellishments, patternmaking, machine sewing, hand illustration, and adobe. My work incorporates corsetry techniques throughout my collections. Through my work I want to tell a story that evokes emotions through sensitive topics, such as claustrophobia and hysteria.
altheawilliamson123@gmail.com
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Work
  1. Neuro-Tactile
  2. District Asylum: Ideation
  3. District Asylum: Realization
  4. Abstraction Recreation Toile
  5. Sanity vs Insanity: Medication
  6. Psychological Scoliosis 
Projects


Neuro-TactileExploring Sensory Processing through visual references including Pablo Picasso, Peter Paul Ruben and Jan Brueghel , in order to gain perspective on how they see people and the 5 senses within their heads. Using silhouette along with different tailoring and couture techniques, I made a jacket with the idea of highetening the five senses through structure, easing them when the jacket has actually been put on.

District Asylum: Ideation Exploring the concept of insanity through the lens of asylum, highlighting how psychiatric patients were treated of their illnesses through different forms of restraints, including straitjackets, chains, and cuffing to chairs, as well as the use of religion and nature as an outlet for patients to look towards. I used different silhouettes directly referencing restraints,  psychiatric nurses and nuns, while conveying a story through emboridery.

District Asylum: Realization


Balenciaga Abstraction Recreation ToileFor this Balenciaga recreation toile, I tested my skills in patternmaking and sewing in order to recreate the iconic Balenciaga Abstraction jacket from 1963. Only having a few visual references to work from, I was able to create this iconic shape through calculations and free hand pattern making in order to get the proper dimensions and structure that I needed for this silhouette.  From their I was able to construct my toile using gathering and different hand sewing techniques. 

Sanity vs Insanity: MedicationFor this Parsons x Theory project I explored the idea of sanity vs insanity through the lens of medication, taking the stories of people who have deal with mental illness, going on and off medication. Taking this research to create a story of someone you goes from being on medication, through their withdrawl, and ending in their mental break. Psychological Scoliosis Realization