Searcy(LP) Fashion designers learn about life when they design. They study history to learn about the many different cultures, pay close attention to what people out and about are wearing, and get ideas from the environment around them. There are lots of things to find inspiration from. Boho fashion takes colors and patterns from nature. Fashion designers take inspiration from things like popular books, movies, buildings, where they live, and more.
Hawwaa Ibrahim, a contestant on Project Runway Junior, Season Two, always looks for ways to dress uniquely; and to have a different style than what fits society’s bland standards. As she passionately states, “Fashion is whatever you want it to be. There’s no right thing, no wrong thing. It’s what you see fits. My style is creative and out of the box. That’s how I want it to stay.”
Hawwaa’s been designing since she was twelve. She taught herself from watching Youtube videos. She grew up in Mankato, a small town in Minnesota, where residents often dressed the same and wore plain outfits that didn’t show their personality. Hawwaa’s inspiration came from them. She wants to be nothing like them. Her designs are like no other, especially the designs she created when she premiered on Project Runway Junior. For one competition, she had to make a dress out of a watermelon pool floatie. She never thought she would have to make something so unusual. While she made this successfully, she’d rather stick to more basic materials. She states, “I mainly use cotton/cotton blends. Recently more scuba/neoprene since it feels nice and is rather sturdy, and tulle, since it’s very pretty.” These fabrics are very good to work with. Neoprene, also known as polychloroprene, is a foam of synthetic rubber that is put between polyester or nylon fabrics, then spandex is added. This is often used for making loose, stretchy clothing. Tulle is commonly used to make wedding veils and to decorate wedding gowns.
During her many years of fashion designing, Hawwaa has accomplished a lot. At Culture Piece Magazine’s first anniversary fashion show in June, she made a smiley face dress for her collection “SODA”. On her success, she states, “I love designing. It can be exhausting at times, but it’s worth all the hard work.” On September ninth of this year, Hawwaa has a fashion show inspired by dolls, called “Plastic” with Fashion Sizzle in NYC.
