Fiza

As a child trained in classical dance, pleats were always part of my world stitched into my costumes, moving and breathing as I moved. I was fascinated by how they responded to the body, how fabric could amplify motion and emotion. That fascination stayed with me and slowly became a language I return to again and again in my design practice. The collection is rooted in a memory back home in South India, when my mother and uncle took me to witness Theyyam, a sacred ritual dance from Kerala. I remember being completely mesmerized by the visuals, the intensity of the expressions, the scale of the costume, and the feeling that the performer was no longer just a person but something otherworldly. The dancer became a vessel, embodying the divine so fully that the audience, too, began to feel transformed. That moment stayed with me, etched deeply, and eventually became the foundation of this collection. Through this work, I explore how ritual embodiment has evolved over time and how divine communication once flowed through the dancer, and how repetition and performance have allowed humans to step into those roles. The garments respond to the body in motion, with pleats unfolding and contracting in rhythm, mirroring breath, movement, and devotion. Rather than beginning with fixed designs, the entire collection was developed through draping directly on the mannequin, allowing looks to emerge intuitively through movement, trial, and transformation. The process itself reflects the act of becoming fluid, immersive, and deeply embodied.

Faculty Gary Miller, Yuko Fujishima, Neil Gilks, Iliana Ricketts