A designer that I have previous talked about in my blog posts is Nicole McLaughlin. Nicole is a recent Colorado-based designer. She is the Creative Director of Arc’teryx, collaborator with Puma, Hermes, Calvin Klein, Reebok, and many more fashion and outdoor focused companies. While her passions are focused on sport and fashion, she’s been coined as the ‘Queen of Upcycling’.

Nicole’s career started working as an intern and then full-time graphic designer at Reebok, a company in which she now has a shoe collaboration with (a shoe in which I own). She eventually left Reebok in 2019 to pursue her career as an independent designer in New York City.

The aesthetic I chose for the upcyling project is one that Nicole know very well and is often inspired by, Gorpcore. The usage of utilitarian clothing as normal recreational clothing, a very popular trend in Boulder. Nicole inspires me in a few different ways. She’s not only an advocate but a pioneer for many sustainable initiatives in the fashion world, something I’ve valued since I began designing clothing. Nicole is also has a creative mind like no other. A common topic in the art and fashion world is no one will be able to replicate the amazing work of late Virgil Abloh. I feel very similarly to Nicole’s work. It’s fresh, new, and most importantly innovative. One other reason Nicole is just a great designer is she’s a 29 year old female designer who is making significant changes in a very male dominated industry.

Sources:

https://nicolemclaughlin.com/exploration

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/09/style/nicole-mclaughlin