Senior Thesis | Hawwaa Ibrahim

inclusive

Children, at their young age, are in the prime of their lives to learn, grow, and break away from the societal norms that have been ingrained into us for hundreds of years. With the large amount of acceptance that’s, fortunately, coming along with the new generation of parents, the concept of gender is understood as something that is fluid and can be forever changing for some people.

One way that people express their gender identity is through clothing. My collection focuses on the idea that children should be able to express themselves in whichever way they see fit without having to worry about an identifying gender until they can make that choice themselves. Inspired by Islamic traditions and modest views, this collection offers clothing that is gender less and created for the parent and child to think freely about how they would like to express themselves now and in the future.

This look showcases my hopes and aspirations for not only the future of Children’s Wear but also the future of fashion as a whole. The concept of labeling clothing with genders is an outdated one and I wanted to push the boundaries of religious expression and the concept of gender identity.

The patterns shown in this look are original patterns I created that were inspired by arabesque art; often found in a lot of Islamic art. The machine embroidery on the jacket strap and the heat transfer on the shirt read “Inclusive” in Arabic. The pants are adjustable so they can fit a wide variety of body types and sizes. Modestly and comfortability were important facts when creating this look.

Critic Award-Winning Look

1/1

Taking the same inspiration as the previous look, I wanted to take more feminine elements and strategically apply them to certain aspects of this look.

The Embodiment of Self-Expression

Featured in this look is a crocheted sweater that is colorblocked with a variety of yarn textures, weights, and colors. Also included is a ¾ skirt with patches of my original arabesque inspired patterns. Underneath it all are blue corduroy pants. I wanted this look to be comfortable and versatile. The layers can be added or taken away for multiple looks!