The mini-capsule I released in February was heavily inspired by the songs that run through my brain on a daily basis. My collection description is as follows:
“I WILL WALK IN THE GARDEN”collection no.1
“An homage to that which is soft, natural, angry, and devoted. A tribute to the solace of walking the nyc streets listening to Sinéad, Lana, or Fiona and tuning out the world. A love letter to introspection, sentimentality, and ravaged femininity.”
This collection was a reaction. As someone recently out of college, I was reflecting on my thesis and how muddled my brain was for the past 4 years. I felt a sense of clarity and a renewed interest in genuine creation.
This collection is mournful, as everything that I make is. That’s just what happens when your first love dies at 17. But when Sinéad passed this summer, it was the first time I had felt a parasocial grief that felt genuine and raw.
I decided to honor the ways in which the artists I love have helped me. Lana del Rey got me from middle school to here, and NFR came out one week after my first love died. She’s my mother. Fiona Apple is the angry sister I always needed. I wrote multiple papers referencing her in college, and I have the opening lyrics to paper bag tattooed on my upper thigh. And I had discovered my love for Sinéad more recently, but Just Like U Said it Would B is one of the greatest songs ever written and when I listen to it I am transported to this world I can’t begin to describe. It feels like growing up. It feels like the clarity I am experiencing now at 22.
I used to be so worried about becoming a gimmick of myself, of my grief. There was an obvious distance between me and my classmates or most people my age because I sincerely felt that none of them could begin to understand what I was going through, so I shut it down. I became a shell. A softer, more serious, anxious person. I have since escaped that trap.
So this is a tribute to the sentimental girls. To being obnoxious with your musings and not caring what other people think about it. Yes, it leans more gimmicky but that’s simply the point. I’ve learned, not every body of work has to be looked at with a serious lense, even though the origins of that body of work may deal with a certain heaviness.
Anyways, I made a playlist for this collection. These are songs to walk around in and contemplate the simple beauty in trying to make sense of life.
It’s in an order, as all playlists should be.
Just Like U Said It Would B - Sinéad O’Connor
Anything We Want - Fiona Apple
A&W - Lana Del Rey
Be My Angel - Mazzy Star
Stars - Angel Olsen
Soft Like a Flower - Cherry Glazerr
Chop Suey - Eartheater
I Am Stretched on Your Grave - Sinéad O’Connor
Good Guy - Julia Jacklin
Let The Light In - Lana Del Rey, Father John Misty
Sullen Girl - Fiona Apple
Pool Party - Julia Jacklin
I Want You To Love Me - Fiona Apple
You Sent Me Flying / Cherry - Amy Winehouse
Black Bathing Suit - Lana Del Rey
Twin Flame - Weyes Blood
Drink Before the War - Sinéad O’Connor
Gibson Girl - Ethel Cain
Cruel World - Lana Del Rey
Bartender - Lana Del Rey
Every Time the Sun Comes Up - Sharon Van Etten
Every Single Night - Fiona Apple
This was most certainly a less edited post. I plan to have a mix of freeform blogging such as this and more edited personal essays on here as well as some knitting technique insights (those will be paywalled :/ sorry).
I figure I may as well start shouting into the void in a more productive manner as I tend to randomly post snippets of my brain on ig, but I recently realized that I genuinely wish iPhones were never invented and I see more and more people these days incapable of putting their thoughts into writing, which is terrifying. But, yeah this blog is the intersection of me and my design work. So read if you care <3
The Lovely Katie Harbold in my Sentimental Girl Knit Set. Shot by Bridget LaPaglia.
you write beautifully, i love ur work !!