Tiani Etheridge

Hi, I'm Tiani a womenswear design graduate, with a focus on textiles and print.

My collection, 'Gaze' is inspired by the intersectional feminist movement. The message of my collection is that your clothes reflect who you are; interests and values, a wearable statement. The garments focus on the concept of recapturing the female gaze; designing for visual impact and joy.

My initial ideas were inspired by a visit to the 'Power to the People' exhibition in Birmingham.
The exhibition displayed over four centuries of work. The piece that most influenced me was the 'Forward Birmingham' banner by Sandi Kiehlmann featuring a female figure holding a flaming torch over the city skyline.
My print designs feature bold and vibrant portraits that aim to represent a variety of women.
For my statement piece I designed an oversized trench coat to be embellished with needle felted portraits. Felted faces of various scales and colours were then finished with free hand embroidery in contrasting topstitching threads to draw attention to the eyes; in reference to the idea of 'seeing' and acknowledging the various forms of inequality faced by women.

KImberle Crenshaw explained Intersectional feminism as: "a prism for seeing the way in which various forms of inequality often operate together and exacerbate each other."