Aspen's Senior Thesis Fashion Design Collection

I came to the Columbus College of Art and Design directly out of graduating from high school. Starting as a comics major because I loved drawing and grew up in the comics community. Very quickly I found myself getting my homework done as quickly as possible so I could sit in the library and draw my own garment designs while looking at the bound vintage volumes of Vogue Magazine. Through the encouragement of my mentor, in the Spring semester of my Freshman year I changed my major to fashion design and from there I felt like I belonged.

Through a lot of hard work and amazing projects and experiences, this Fall I will be entering my Senior year at CCAD and will be working on my thesis collection. To explain, this means I will spend a full year researching, designing, fitting and constructing a collection that will then be presented as a runway show In May of 2026. This process has been a dream come true, and it feels so surreal that I'm approaching my thesis so quickly!

In the process of creating this collection the students have to pay for every element of their collection out of pocket. As a twenty-one year old college student who currently works two jobs as well as taking on any extra random odd jobs and artist work, this still is out of reach for me to afford. This is also the first time in my life of being off food stamps and not having that level of help. Even with all of my own work and efforts, without some aspect of outside help this thesis simply would not exist. Absolutely anything you donate to make this dream happen would be so valuable!

My inspiration has always been drawn from vintage fashion, mainly from mod visionaries such as Rudi Gernreich. I also have an incredibly strong focus in sustainable design, working with high quality materials that are better for the environment, and being conscious of both the physical and social impact of my designs. My focus in my garments is textile based, so the physical material I work with is crucial to executing my thesis.

This collection will exist as my main portfolio piece and essentially serves as my resume when applying to fashion design jobs. I am very environmentally focused and want to showcase that there are alternatives to fast fashion. With this collection I'm determined to use high quality materials paired with thoughtful and beautiful designs. I believe everyone deserves the opportunity to witness beautiful designs that last and I would loathe it if I were putting the people I dress in materials that are bad for the environment and bad for the well-being of the wearer.

I set my goal at $5,000 for this fundraiser. Some students in the past have $10,000 on their collection, that's how insanely expensive thesis work in fashion can get! I'll need help with so many materials that a lot of time aren't considered in the cost of a garment:

The more obvious (and fun!) material of the main fabrics for my collection. I plan on working with all luxury and natural fabrics such as silks, wool, leather (I also plan on naturally dyeing most of my on fabrics)

-Closures (zippers/snaps/buttons)

-The interior elements like boning, canvas, elastic, padding

-Yards and yards of muslin for mockups (and with Joann's having officially closed this is much harder to access now)

-Natural dyes (Indigo, Cutch, Ect.)

-Tool replacements and upkeep (scissors are so incredibly vital)

-So. much. tape and pattern paper

I'm so excited to start the process of designing this collection, and I'm incredibly grateful to everyone who has helped me get to this point so far! Truly I wouldn't know what to do without my community. I cannot afford this thesis on my own and the ability to actualize this dream has been on my mind for months leading up to starting it. Absolutely anything you can contribute would be so appreciated, you have no idea. If you're curious about any of the process don't hesitate to reach out to me, I love sharing my process! Thank you so, so much, and I hope to see you all next May to see it all come together