Abby Eastwood
Master of Design student
Bachelor of Design Te Tohu Paetahi mō te Hoahoa in Fashion Design with a minor in Experimental Surface Design
Studying at AUT is a beautiful journey that introduces you to a wide range of knowledge and experiences, says fashion design student Abby Eastwood.
“There are so many opportunities and spaces to explore at AUT, like the 3D labs, textile labs or the print-making facilities. AUT will teach you the foundations and then encourage you to exceed them, fostering experimentation and encouraging the pushing of boundaries. They want you to succeed. I’ve really enjoyed my learning and have always felt grateful for the support I received from my lecturers, my peers, the disability student support service and the AUT Student Hub. But what I’ve enjoyed most is learning, making and engaging with my work and the briefs. Fashion design is exciting!”
With four years of study behind her, Abby says she tried to be involved in everything and there are a few experiences she is especially proud of.
“In my first year I won the Gordon Harris Excellence in Art First-year Fashion, followed by the Future Fashion Award sponsored by Direct Sewing in my second year and the Fabric Merchants Award for Excellence in Fashion Design in my third year. I always signed myself up to represent AUT at events, worked as a peer mentor, did a summer research scholarship for the RAU Textiles Research Facility and was generously gifted a scholarship for my master’s degree.”
Bringing awareness to the body
Now enrolled in a Master of Design, Abby says she chose to do postgraduate study because she still had more to say and learn.
“In my graduate collection in my third year, I explored heavy emotions – like grief, anger and pain – through the use of art-therapy-based collage; a skill I had learnt in my own therapy experiences. I targeted my work specifically towards men, providing them with a mode of communication beyond verbal; a feeling they could wear. I found a way of working and thinking about fashion that was honest to me and wanted to continue to explore that knowledge.”
She is now building on this earlier work for her master’s degree research, supervised by Jennifer Whitty and Dr Rachelle Moore.
“My research is forming through the question ‘can you wear a feeling?’, expanding on my undergraduate work and going beyond representation of emotion. I intend to evoke emotion through a dialogue between the body and the material or garment. My work critiques the Cartesian divide, and fashion design’s tendency to focus purely on the visual. The body is crucial to communication of clothing, but its needs and desires are often left unconsidered.
“By centring the body as the site of knowledge, I aim to bring awareness to the body. I feel my research can help reposition the body in fashion design, as well as give others the opportunity to connect to the body and the emotions that the body expresses – reframing them to something positive. My research is situated in disabled communities; it’s a promise to my sister, who has MS, that the body is a safe space.”
Advice for other students
Abby’s advice for other students is simple: keep trying!
“I never thought I’d be where I am today, but I always tried. I made a choice to try. If what you’re studying is what you love – make it your life, give yourself to it and it will give itself back to you.”
She certainly knows what she’s talking about and there’s no doubt that fashion is something she loves.
“A lot of people know what they want to do and have known for a long time, but that wasn’t the case for me. Fashion found me when I needed it the most. It has the perfect blend of structure and creativity, and it gave action to words I have always struggled to articulate. Fashion design gave me purpose, direction and growth.”
