Speculative History Design

Speculative History→Design is an exhibition from the VCUarts Richmond department of Fashion Design + Merchandising. This project incorporates the work of six junior-level fashion design students, gleaned from three studio classes and based on one overarching design prompt. The students studied Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby’s speculative design theories and were challenged to imagine a specific time or event in history as though it happened differently or not at all, and how that alternate history would impact everything, including material culture. Students designed garments within their chosen concepts using an approach that reconsidered the traditionally binary gender constructs of male and female. Each student crafted a unique sartorial solution to the design problem through research, experimentation, hand and computer drawings, patterning, and the construction of three-dimensional garments. Through intentional design and storytelling, the students rendered speculative realities visible.

 

August 28, 2022 - September 22, 2022