School:
The New School: Parsons School of Design
Age:
24
Hometown:
Pembroke, New Hampshire
What do you love about fashion?
Clothing design is the closest physical representation of Character design. I get to create a person, a look, and a feeling. It also provides a great opportunity to experiment with materiality and craftsmanship.
What/who inspired you to become a designer?
My greatest inspiration will always be my curiosity. Though blessed with many answers growing up, I find the questions in fashion to be the most exciting.
Your parents are both scientists, and you’ve joked that that gene skipped you. However, you have some cool elements in your designs that utilize science like jellyfish DNA. Tell us about those and what drew you to these unique choices.
I believe the philosophy of my work is a great example of nature vs. nurture. By my nature I am an artist. My passion and fascination for art, creativity and beauty has always been a defining characteristic of who I am. My nurture, however, has been far different. My father is an engineer and my mother works in medical science — a far shout from the world of fashion. My father’s love for technology and my mother’s love for science were two things I always admired and knew I wanted to emulate in my own work.
How would you describe your design style?
I describe my style as “Chimeric Couture.” By this I mean that my creations are an equal mix of classic understanding of garments and haute couture techniques and my own personal aesthetic and technological abilities. My great love for Cyberpunk, Sci-fi, and fiction blends cohesively with my admiration for the classic, romantic, and pure. What it makes is J•MUJET.
Technology also plays a big part in your design with your use of AI creation. How are you bringing the future into your design now?
I like to think of my work less as today’s future, but rather as tomorrow’s modern. One hundred years ago people looked at sewing machines the way we now look at 3D printers. They knew it existed, and might make things easier, but were afraid to incorporate it into the existing framework. If we view things such as Technology, Science and Sustainability as things which the involvement in design is assumed, we create a clear path to our best future. When creating CHIMERA, a Python-based GAN neural network, I was trying to consider the real, logical application of Artificial Intelligence in fashion design. Rather than fantasies of I-Robot, what would the true future of AI based design look like in a setting where all or most designers might be using it? For me, this came in the form of an intelligent design assistant. A program which assists designers, rather than replaces them.
What is the name of your collection and the inspiration behind creating it?
Motoko. The collection takes heavy inspiration from both the vaporwave music pop culture phenomenon, and the integration of its sounds and culture into the classic 1980-90’s cyberpunk and anime stratosphere. The collection includes 3D printed embroidery, silicon encased fabrics, laser-cut appliqué, and machine embroidered digitized illustrations by J•MUJET. These materials help form the vibrant nuances of the collection in a uniquely empirical way.
You recently became a CFDA Honorate — what was that process like and what’s been your experience since?
Having the opportunity to showcase my work in a CFDA calendar show was a wonderful opportunity. The CFDA has been extremely kind to me, and I’m very honored that they have taken an interest in my work. I hope that I can continue to improve my work and represent them well.