Arjahn Cox
Systems & Society
Angels of History
Angels of History calls for less exclusionary practices and representation for more transgender people of color in the context of fashion, asking the questions: Why should every model be thin, white, and cisgender? Why should clothing be made without the input of the wearer? And why do only the rich elite receive custom clothing? At this moment, not everyone's fashion desires and needs are being met due to issues such as exclusionary sizing practices or the strict gender binary. Arjahn Cox has created a new system of wearer-based design centering around the wearer’s desires and needs. Working with transgender people of color to shift from the historically cisgender and white world of fashion, Arjahn has created a four-look collection based on the desires and needs of four different muses who were found via general survey, chosen based on their responses, interviewed, and designed for, leading to final garments and outcomes.
Data
Out of 118 participants, only 51% felt that clothing options that are available to them adequately express their identity. Discrepancies highlighted in the survey responses included a strict gender binary in clothing options, clothing not coming in specific sizes or for certain body types, and affirming clothing being too expensive. While this may seem superficial, it draws upon systemic inequities as the people who have clothing that they like are people who possess societally privileged bodies (cisgender, thin, heterosexual...). It is fashion’s role to do its part in helping to fix these inequities as current fashion systems are not working for everyone, but rather for a privileged few.
System
This project created and used a system of wearer-based design in which muses are (1) first found via general survey in which they express their desire to act as a muse. (2) Muses are then chosen and interviewed to get to know them as well as their desires and need in relation to their own self expression. (3) Based on what the muses express in their interviews, the designer then designs for those desires and needs, making sure that the muse/wearer would be comfortable in final designs, (4)custom clothing is then created that fits the Muse’s bodies, desires, and needs.
System in Action
Detailing of creating the pieces for each muse. For a more in depth view of the process visit arjahn.com
Muse: SwanSwan
Desires from Interview, Design Ideations, and Making Process
In their interview they expressed that they wanted low cut tops, corsetted/cinched waist, pure femininity, and decorateive elements in their ideal outift.
Pattern Planning, Toiles and Fittings, and Materiality. Materiality mainly consisted of a pleated fabric patchwork. All patterns were made without the use of slopers and to the measurement of the muse.
Muse: Toni
Desires from Interview, Design Ideations, and Making Process
In their interview they expressed that they wanted a mix of masculinity and feminity, patterns and pops of color.
Pattern Planning, Toiles and Fittings, and Materiality. Materiality mainly consisted of natural dyeing, pleating and patchwork patterning techniques.
Muse: Averey Vaquero
Desires from Interview, Design Ideations, and Making Process
In his interview he expressed that he wanted embellished masculinity, textures, and boxy silhouettes
Pattern Planning, Toiles and Fittings, and Materiality. Materiality mainly consisted of a construction of striped fabric via strips of canvas.
Muse: Kambaba
Desires from Interview, Design Ideations, and Making Process
In her interview she expressed that she wanted flowy skirts, warm colors, layering and exposed midriff
Pattern Planning, Toiles and Fittings, and Materiality. Materiality mainly consisted of pleating and dyeing fabric
Final Photos
Photos were taken with the motive of muses being themselves and feeling comfortable and confident in the garments. Photos were taken at a mansion in New York with the intent of showing the muses in a grandiose environment and taking up space in a place that is historically exclusionary. Photos by Eugene Manning of Lucre Visual Media
Conclusion
Many people's desires and needs are not being met with the clothing currently availible to them. Everyone has to wear clothes, yet about half of the people surveyed are not wearing clothes that they enjoy wearing. This project: Angels of History created and used a wearer-based system directly opposing these issues by making clothing based on the wearer's desires and needs, and calls for more inclusion in fashion design.
Thank you to all of my muses for their willingness to be a part of this project and their transparency in sharing their stories with me. I am very thankful and grateful to have done a thesis project such as this that has allowed me to connect and work with so many amazing people. In the future, I hope to do similar work making clothing with marginalized people in mind.
Bio
Arjahn Cox is a Black non-binary fashion designer based in New York. They design with their identities in mind with the hope of enriching the clothing options for people who do not fit the white, cisgender standard of fashion. In their time at university they have been fortunate enough to study at three universities: Pratt for their freshman year, Parsons for their sophomore through senior years, and they studied abroad at Central Saint Martins for the fall of their junior year. For their senior year, Arjahn was a recipient of the CFDA x Häagen-Dazs Scholarship Award.
For their thesis project, Arjahn Cox has created a new system of wearer-based design centering around the wearer’s desires and needs. Working with transgender people of color to shift from the historically cisgender and white world of fashion, Arjahn has created a four-look collection based on the desires and needs of four different muses who were found via general survey, chosen based on their responses, interviewed, and designed for, leading to final garments and outcomes.