Designer: Jessica Colaco
A letter to Van Gogh: Tribute to Vincent Van Gogh
Jessica Colaco, a student from Goa at the JD School of Design, paid tribute to Vincent Van Gogh through her collection, ‘A letter to Van Gogh,’ at the JD Design Awards 2023. Given that the topic is Tribute, the designer has decided to pay homage to the internationally renowned painter by using one of her favourite works from his collection. The scene from his asylum room’s east-facing window in Saint Remy-de-Provence right before daybreak is depicted in The Starry Night, along with an imagined settlement.
The Starry Night artwork served as the inspiration for the semi-formal evening wear line, which was created by taking the painting’s elements, colours, and brushstrokes—blue sky, yellow and white stars, and a crescent moon—and enhancing them. Teenagers and young adults will be served by the clothing line.
The materials used to make the clothing were white cotton blend is used for the main fabric, along with white, blue, and yellow organza tissue, and cotton poplin for the inside. Colours used in the painting like white, blue, yellow, green, brown, black, silver, and gold fabric paints were incorporated onto the garments along with varnish to preserve it. To represent the various elements of the artwork, the designer used embellishments made of silver, blue, yellow, and gold rhinestone beads, stars (also in silver and gold), and half pearls (gold and silver).
The technique used for, ‘A letter to Van Gogh,’ to create the garments was handmade painting with large brush strokes and made it her own and different kinds of designs from, ‘The Starry Night’ painting. The bead work was similar to the colours to merge with the painting and gave it a glittery and shiny effect.
“Apart from fashion designing, I am also interested in the world of art and ‘Vincent Van Gogh’ is my favourite painter. I was inspired by his iconic painting, ‘The Starry Night,’ and tried to mix my style and technique with his to make my collection.”
– By Suhana Sajjad Wahab
www.jddesignawards.com
