Teenager impressively fuses fashion & art... into a dress!
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While there are several other steps taken before, having a piece of art that attracts the eyes of residents and tourists alike are confirmation that she is doing the right thing to make her dreams a reality.
Rikkiya Brathwaite, 15, is a tenth grade student of Cedar International school who is making use of every opportunity that avails itself to follow her career path. A recent school project is one such.
As part of her school’s Middle Year Programme (MYP), which is part of the school’s Baccalaureate Programme requirement that gives students the scope of choice, Rikkiya Brathwaite opted for something that appeals to her passion, fine arts. It is considered a personal programme.
She did a piece that was inspired by Dutch post-Impressionist painter Vincent Willem van Gogh's famous Starry Night painting, one which she recreated with her unique flair and taste. This was then transferred to a piece that is truly the taste of girls her age and persons who have a passion and flare for the arts.
“What I chose to do is to fuse fashion and art because I really like those aspects of the fine arts. I choose the van Gogh’s piece which is the Starry Night so I made a life size version of a Mattel Barbie doll collection that I own. I collect Barbie dolls.”
She said that the inspiration came from one of her Barbie collection that had the starry night decoration on it and thought, “this is cool, why not do this.” She did the piece against the backdrop that fashion can effectively display artwork. “So I made a life sized version of the Barbie doll.”
Passing by the UMI Fashion showcase in Road Town, the piece will definitely capture one’s attention and it appropriately shows a fusion with the starry night painted on the dress. “So fashion is the dress and the painting on the dress is the art work and together there is the fusion,” said the tenth grader.
She further explained that encapsulated in the requirements of the project is an aspect that requires some level of community involvement and so she wants the community to be aware of her project and to see her work on display.
And while several persons have approached UMI Fashion store to purchase the dress, the young lady is not being carried away with the money she could make for her efforts but instead is thinking about doing the noble act of donating it to the local museum.
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