A: How did you get into this field? What drew you to fashion/design?

J: I was more interested in conceptual art, was doing lots of drawing. Then Freshman year I took a fashion class on a whim. I found it so conceptually rewarding to work in the language of clothing, I felt that my ideas were directly impacting real life. Fashion is a really quick accessible for people to take what I was offering and bring it into their everyday life.

A: Why Maine/Why MECA? Any particular Maine inspiration you draw from? Maine is such a “brand” at this point… very well marketed and recognized. How do you put your own twist on this? or do you forego the Maine vibe all together?

J: I’m from Bermuda, but I spent a couple years in Boston for high school so I was sort of acclimated to US society, but what really what did it for me was that my mom recommended it. I have a lot of respect for her thought process and think she is very thorough, so the fact that she was adamant about me spending time at the school and visiting it was very exciting. I visited and found that it was the right fit for me in terms of strict academia, which I was used to with my British school background, and my sort of freedom-loving artistic side…The facilities are amazing, and I like having access to all the equipment [at MECA.]

A: Discuss your creative process, and the inspirations for these projects. What is the degree of work that actually goes into the production of a line? Connect people to the clothes and the labor of love that is fashion design.

J: Bermuda is a very multi-cultural place, and because of that they have their own culture voice that is unique to them, even amongst the islands. My own background is very multi-cultural: I am Portuguese, Irish, African, different Caribbean islands, all these things with very tangible voices for me. So my work is about transitioning cultures and globalized cultures, transforming in terms of how we interact with each other, but not necessarily in terms of aesthetic.; I think when cultures hybridize, so often they default to European, British, and Italian aesthetics.

I work a lot in reference to Irish Aran sweaters, tribal motifs, and family motifs, fusing them a lot with inspiration from African wax print, color, and clearly nuanced reference to “tribe” in that way.

I think when people want to participate in these maybe marginalized groups aesthetically, they are so niched, like a dashiki shirt. I find that when people are trying to add in cultural influences, they are usually cheap because the people doing them do not have the economic backing to make quality products. I’m considering class, but I am interested in providing this visual culture in a quality way.