Sewing Circle with Nicole Liao
Nicole is our dear friend who we met in New York through the School of Visual Arts. We didn’t think we would meet again, but somehow we crossed paths again in Portland when we moved there for our jobs. While she’s currently a product designer at Instrument, she does a bunch of fun projects on the side—one such project is sewing these repurposed articles of clothing. We’re excited to chat and learn more about them below.
Shirley: Nicole, thank you so much for sharing your work with Night Snack Club. Appreciate you taking this FaceTime call when we’re on different coasts. So tell me about your first experience with sewing. How did you pick up this skill as a hobby? What’s going on in your mind when you look at a piece of cloth? Is it “yes, this is what I want to potentially turn into a dress/skirt” or is it “my form of expression through this piece of fabric”?
Nicole: My first experience with sewing was 8 years ago when I was in L.A. It was at an intro to fashion design class; a summer class. That was the first time I got a sewing machine. We were asked to make a dress for the semester and it took about 4 weeks. I always liked to watch Project Runway when I was younger, but I knew nobody in that industry. The class was like Project Runway, the mood and how we were asked to come up with a concept of a dress from nothing. There was no limit. I made a white dress with stripes coming down. I spent a lot of time figuring out what kind of material, etc, but the dress actually looks like a cheap curtain right now. My expectations were high but the output was low [laughs].
Shirley: Sorry—we should have asked this before. Can you introduce us to yourself, maybe a quick intro about you?
Nicole: I grew up in China, and I was 14 when I moved here to study. I knew I wanted to study art. During my high school years, I practiced making my portfolio about art and design. But during that time, I discovered that design was a subject I was really interested in, but I didn’t know what kind of design. So I tried all kinds of design; graphic design and product (industrial) design. I also have to thank my mom. She did a lot of homework in terms of what kind of major would be good for my career because she knows I love art. I am thankful for her [and her effort] try to find out what’s possible for me and to get me to try all those things. I feel like graphic design is something I’d like to continue for a long time.
Johana: Why did you choose graphic design over fashion design?
Nicole: I didn’t know about graphic design until later when we were researching the different majors in colleges in the U.S., and we found out about this “graphic design.” From the SVA (School of Visual Arts) website [laughs]. The fashion world felt very different and very high-end as a young kid. That world seems very glamorous, and I feel like I'm different from that world.
Shirley: From the wonderful pieces you’ve been making, I noticed that it’s coming from either a vintage shirt you’ve thrifted or leftover fabric in your apartment. What inspires you to repurpose materials versus buying new fabric for your pieces? And would you say that’s your preferred medium? What are your thoughts about that?
Nicole: When I first got my sewing machine back, I already forgot all the education from [the fashion class]. I don’t know anything about pattern making or how it’s supposed to start. A part of me is also impatient; I want to get started as soon as possible. I have this tool and what’s the easiest way to try to get started? I didn’t plan to re-work clothes. One of the first pieces I made was inspired by the Nike lanyard. I have this Nike lanyard that says “visitor” and it’s red. I looked at it and then looked at the white shirt I usually wear and thought, “Supreme.” I thought it’d be really fun to have this “visitor” label on the shirt like Supreme, in an ironic way. That night, I made it. The next day, I wore it to the office and my coworkers were like, “Cool shirt!” They recognized that it was from a Nike lanyard. I like to put pieces together that are not supposed to be together, but are in some ways an aesthetic, yet also funny.
Shirley: I like how your co-workers commented on it and started a conversation.
Nicole: It was like an experiment or a game; how many people were able to tell where this was inspired from.
Shirley: Can we go one by one on each piece? I’d love to hear the story and intention behind each one and how you managed to tie these colorways together?
Nicole: I think the pockets were the purpose of this skirt. I love things with pockets. It liberates me from a purse that I have to carry. I don’t like to be limited when I am out having fun. When I saw the backpack in a vintage store, I was attracted to the pockets on the left and right. The backpack was not that pretty but it was cheap. So I grabbed it, and the next second I was thinking, what if it could be repurposed onto another piece of clothing? Without having an expectation of what I was looking for, I wandered the store and put the bag next to different pieces of clothing, to see if the fabrics matched with the backpack pockets. I tried a couple of pieces, and finally came upon this skirt. It reminds me of what kids like to wear, but it’s also kind of sexy because it’s tight. The stripes on the side remind me of a [garter], or just elongating the leg, yet the material contradicts that [sexiness]. I really like things that are not fully what it is, but it’s hinting at something. I haven’t worn it out. I should. Portland is not where I would wear it, maybe New York.
When I saw the fabric, I knew what I wanted to do. With the [previous] skirt it was not like that—for that I like using design [thinking]. The material and the loop really got me. When I went to throw out the trash, there was a bag with free curtains and they were all from IKEA. I just knew right away that I wanted to do pants. I like the idea of the [curtain grommets] exposing some skin and I just planned that out. I took pants that had a really nice shape and based it on that. Also, with this piece I realize that not all fabrics are good for clothing.
It was really, really big. When I first heard of Wu-Tang Clan, I thought it was something Chinese, but then I listened to their music and I really liked it! I didn’t grow up listening to hip-hop; I grew up listening to Jay Chou. Last summer I was in Chinatown, Portland, and stumbled across a hip-hop shop. I thought it was interesting that they were intertwined. There was a huge bin in the middle of shirts and jerseys. I saw this floral print with a little Chinese on it. When I pulled it out, it was an XXL Hawaiian shirt. I saw the label and it said “Wu Wear.” I think it’s cool their name is taken from a Shaolin martial arts style and kind of paying tribute to that culture. This item reminds me of a qipao fabric because of the flowers and it's really beautiful. I was inspired because they appropriated our Chinese culture for a purpose and I kind of re-appropriated the culture back.
Hui: The recycling of all these cultures and then you don’t even know where it begins.
Shirley: What was your inspiration to create these pieces? Was it sustainability?
Nicole: I become attached to clothes. It’s like an old friend, even. I don’t want to throw it away and it goes to the trash. I can make them into something that I would still wear. I use old clothes for that sake. Or I use clothes that I haven’t worn in a long time.
Shirley: It’s almost like re-incarnation.
Nicole: [Laughs and agrees].
Shirley: When you’re making these pieces, who are you making it for? Are these strictly for you or do you plan to sell or gift to your friends one day? Is there a goal in the end?
Nicole: It’s not like a huge goal, but I would like to make a collection because [right now] they are individual pieces. Also I’d like to incorporate what I’ve learned from design into it, like the storytelling aspect. I would be really interested to make them for others, but my approach would be to make it for just that person, it’s not about mass production for everyone. When it comes to styling, I’m interested in enhancing the connection of the clothes, the body, and the identity. A lot of times when I wear something, I feel like I'm pasting on the clothes. When I make it for my friends, I want to make it for them, just the individual person to highlight and fit them. With marketing and mass branding, people buy it because they want to be that person; you want to look and be that [brand/lifestyle]. When I am wearing a brand, you behave a certain way. But when I make my own pieces, I can customize them for me; to recognize how much percentage is boyish, feminine, and totally authentic for me.
Shirley: Thank you so much for spending the last hour with us! I’m counting down the days until we can all see each other in person!
Photography by Nicole Liao
Interview by NSC