Fashion Designer Sijun Guo`
She is 24 years old, her first couture collection was shown on the runway at the Parsons Annual Benefit Show, and if you thought it could not get any better you'd be wrong. Pieces from her collection were selected to be shown in Saks Fifth Avenue’s window displays. This 24 year old is Sijun Guo. Originally from China, Sijun graduated from the Parsons School of Design in May of 2016. Her senior thesis collection, White Memory, was her first full collection 😱. There is a meaningful story behind the collection that I was lucky enough to hear from Sijun.
When Sijun was four years old, her mother told her that everyone in this world is some type of animal behind a mask. Sijun would imagine all of the people around her as some type of animal. To her, they were all cute, nice, and genuine. Then one day her family broke apart and her view turned dark. Suddenly all of the animals (people) she saw became frightening and strange. As a result Sijun decided to stop viewing people this way. Today Sijun no longer sees people as different types of animals, but she does wonder if people see her as some type of animal, and if so, who is she.
The collection, White Memory, represents Sijun’s vision of people before her parents divorced when she was a child. The story behind the collection is one that Sijun does not usually discuss with people because it makes her sad. Sijun found a way to share her story without telling it verbally (although she did tell me part of it), and doing so was one of the most valuable aspects of the fashion show + Saks window experience.
White Memory is metaphorically beautiful and visually beautiful. So what did Sijun use to make the collection, and how long did it take? From the start -- developing the initial designs -- to the end -- presenting the collection - it took a year. Sijun employed felt-wool and knit fabric, and for the deer look she used organza. By hand, Sijun created the silk detail on the pieces, to serve as the animals’ veins. In terms of the technical skills required to make the collection, Sijun studied at the Academy of Art: Fine Arts, in San Francisco, California. There, Sijun learned the technical skills needed to transform the two dimensional into the three dimensional.
Now that Sijun has graduated she wants to work at an established brand to gain experience. After that, she aspires to found her own commercial label, and I have no doubt that she will do so with success.