Fashion Textile for Product and Costume

Rachel McKinney

Made In Michigan

When it comes to art and design, I find myself to be most inspired by history and my family. In 2022, I inherited my great- grandmother’s button collection. This collection came from her time working as a seamstress during the Great Depression and World War II, and throughout the mid-Twentieth Century. The beauty of these tiny pieces of art struck inspiration, and at the same time got me reflecting on my own time as a designer and my time working in an alterations shop.

The ideas of make-do and mend, and crafting for a purpose to make old items new again have been passed down from her generation to my grandparents, and to my father who helped teach me how to sew. Drawing inspiration from the motifs of these buttons, as well as other items hand-crafted by my family members, this collection celebrates my heritage and the generations that came before me by using traditional craft techniques to create sustainable couture garments using second-hand and deadstock materials.

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