Accumulate
Mini Collection Spring 2026
Showcased at Your Vote Your Legacy Fashion Show
This collection is made of unconventional materials, but not unconventional in terms of rarity. I’m using common objects that are present in my life, whether that be day to day or found in some junk pile I’ve held onto for use “someday”. These pieces attest to my creativity and talent but also to my very human ability to consume resources—as well as my ability to recontextualize what may be considered disposable or worthless. In our consumer driven, wasteful world I’d like to display that value is completely in the eye of the beholder.
Look 1: Birth Control Dress
Since my first packet in the summer of 2019, I have been saving my used birth control packs. At first I wasn’t sure why—maybe some mental achievement of adulthood or maturity—but eventually I came to see them as a visual record of time, of how many months I had been on them. I kept them in a set of candy tins, and as the stash grew over the years I began to conceptualize making a garment with them. Following Roe V. Wade being overturned, I naturally developed the feeling that my access to healthcare and specifically my jurisdiction over my own body would someday be threatened. As the United States continues to take away bodily autonomy and individual rights, I knew this was the perfect time for my concept to become reality.
Made of around 80 blister packs and sleeves, this dress was draped with masking and painters tape and then machine sewn into one piece with Velcro on one side. The lining is separate from the exterior shell, and is satin with a boned corset attached. The boa consists of two lines of packets sewn to a center of twill tape.
Birth Control Dress
Look 2: Film Strip Breastplate
This look is the culmination of three separate accumulations—the pants being from my own, the mock neck top from my maternal grandmother, and the film from my paternal grandparents. The film strips were acquired during a massive cleanout of my grandparents’ house after my grandmother passed in 2024, whereas my dad and I took with us the incredible stash of family photos of which we haven’t yet been able to get through organizing and archiving. Of course these negatives were all saved to make more copies of photos, waiting to be used “in case” or “someday” but have little to no use in our digital world. Instead of trashing them, I kept them for, yes, “something”—which would turn into the breastplate of this outfit. The top was made from my other grandmother’s residual fabric stash that I’ve had for over ten years, which was probably meant to be used for a skating costume in the 80’s. The pants were discovered, already cut but not sewn, in my college files as a toile for what became my senior collection.
The film strips were draped and hand sewn through the perforations. The white top is a poly knit, and the pants are a poly satin.
Film Strip Breastplate
Look 3: Mardi Gras Bead Dress
This dress also comes from ideas (and beads) I’ve had stored for years, with the desire to make them into something wearable. My mom used to teach Zumba classes when I was younger, and she would make it a point to celebrate holidays but also specifically the associated cultures and music through her classes. I think Mardi Gras was always her favorite, and she would tote the box of beads around with her (and her sound system, obviously) and I loved to watch her hand out the beads to everyone in her classes and saw them sway with every joyous movement. I wanted to make sure that this dress conveyed that joy, and it turned out even better than I expected.
The bead strands are hand sewn to the poly satin dress, which is self lined, with an internal flannel layer for support.
Mardi Gras Beads Dress