Photo by Katie Schliep

By Katie Schliep

Staff writer

Name: Patricia Nora Garcia
Major: Fashion Design
Year: Fourth-year
Hometown: Fairfax, Va.

District: What was your inspiration behind your collection?

Garcia: I was inspired by the idea of Vincent van Gogh falling in love with a recluse. I found this article about a woman who died at 105, and she was a recluse. When they found her, she was surrounded by all these French impressionist paintings in her house. I thought it was nuts! So, that’s where it all branched from.

District: What are your future plans after graduating?

Garcia: Well, I still have one remaining class to take this summer, but as for after that, I’m really open to any possibilities. I would love to head to Europe. There are so many European couturiers that I would love to work with.

District: Which designers?

Garcia: I love the designer Iris van Herpen. She does the most crazy couture. She uses materials, like aluminum and wood and things that you wouldn’t normally wear. What I’ve made, my collection, is a more subdued version of what I wish I could do. I would love to be an architect with clothes.

District: Who was the most influential person when developing your collection?

Garcia: Well, Iris van Herpen for sure. Vincent van Gogh’s color palette is just awesome. He has some beautiful work that’s really modern. A lot of his color palettes really relate to today.

District: Are there aspects of your collection that you wish you could change?

Garcia: All of my pieces are laser cut. So, I wish I had more time to laser cut, and laser cut even more. It’s a lot of time. I wish there were 30 hours in the day!

Print experimentation was a huge aspect in my collection’s development. I collaborated with Toni Dammicci, a fibers major, and Emily Brodowski, a metals and objects major. They’re amazing. They dyed a bunch of the fabric for my collection.

What’s great about the environment here at SCAD is that you can make everything in-house. The fact that I can make these amazing prints that are so intricate, and beautiful, by hand, is nuts. You can’t find that anywhere else.

District: Any advice for the new seniors?

Garcia: Collaborate! But start early. Try to find someone during the summer. The whole process that I went through was so spontaneous, and almost a gift from God. I just happened to run into all the right people.