About Me
I'm Samir, a Fashion design student from John Moore's University
Samir Edwards-Sutton is not just your typical fashion designer... he is a fashion designer of Arab-British heritage who specialises in menswear clothing. His aim is to explore the world of fashion through the lens of the disabled community. Exploring how clothes can be made better for those with physical and hidden handicaps.
I have immersed myself into the fashion world for up to 4 years now and one thing I have noticed is the minimal/borderline non-existent amount of representation for the disabled community, particularly hidden disabilities. I am a proud member of the disabled community and want to show that we are people too and can be a part of fashion just as much as the average individual. It is crucial to offer an opportunity to enjoy fashion and the clothes we wear for the disabled community who may struggle with what they wear, especially in such a neglected community in the fashion world.
INSPIRATION
My inspiration began with my own experience with imposter syndrome.
Imposter syndrome is the concept of believing you achieved what you have achieved via luck and not your own skill and ability. I have always experienced feelings of imposter syndrome even before I knew what imposter syndrome was. When I got to university and saw other students' work, I found myself comparing myself to them all the time, thinking about how much better everyone else's work was, making me wonder if I actually belonged alongside the other students.
I felt inadequate, but then decided to put that energy into this project, wanting to show how I feel and create something that not only myself experiences, but other creatives, every day people, disabled people, non-disabled people, parents, office workers, and loads of others have this feeling of feeling like a fraud and that they only got to where they were by luck alone. This collection is my message to the fashion world and the world in general. You are not a fraud. You are amazing.
MY WORK
PORTFOLIOS
Title page, went under previous name prior.
Imposter syndrome summary.
Sheer/voile used as a front. Hence under the veil.
Off-the-rack suits influenced workspace
Designs. Creating traditional menswear for office
Designs continued.
Designs continued
Designs continued.
Final Line up. Looks 1-3
Final line up. Looks 4-6
Technical flats. Looks 1-4
Technical flats. Looks 5 & 6
Look 1 was the first to be complete. The imposter
Details. Sliders and chunky zips used for ease
Look 1. Forced-to-wear collection
Look 2. A S/S collection despite A/W garments
Look 3. The imposter has trench details on shirt
Look 4. Same sunglasses on all models to hide face
Look 5. The Showstopper
DETAIL
I have created a scenario of the imposters on their way to work.
I have created an illusion where there are garments sewn inside the garments via seams, creating this front, representing how we put this front on that we are doing okay when really we feel out of our depth. I am capturing traditional menswear that represents those who go to their office job, forced to wear a suit they did not want to buy to present this front of the people we are not. This collection is designed to not only be a work uniform, but the future of the work space uniform. Providing a smart, yet casual and comfortable style that you could go out and about in and feel like you could lounge around in it at the end of your day regardless if you have been to work or not. This collection is filled with irony having it as a S/S collection despite it being traditionally A/W garments, having its own handle being forced-to-wear (a play on ready-to-wear) representing that we are made to follow a form of dress code in work, and having these veils to act as a front and how it hides underneath what we feel
“Anastasia felt inadequate among the greats, and yet they parted to make sure she was in the midst of them, as an equal.”- Neil Shusterman, Thunderhead
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