SERIES 18 || SAYING NO...

Having just become a mother, life has never been a dull day for designer Cassey Gan. From midnight feeds to watching her baby take his first few steps, experiencing the big and small milestones that come with maternity has been full of surprises.

Staying true to her brand’s ethos, “inspiration is everywhere”, the designer finds beauty in her new life as a mother. As grocery store runs become more frequent to nourish and feed her child, visual references to broccoli florets, carrot sticks, and potatoes find themselves amongst an array of prints painted in bright hues of pink, orange, and green.

Being a mom also means being able to protect your child from life’s dangers, and making sure they know right from wrong. With that, she finds herself using the word “No” a lot to protect her baby from doing things that might harm him. Though this word is now part of her daily vocabulary as a mother, this isn’t particularly true in the context of her professional life. In fear of offending her peers and the people around her, saying “No” isn’t so easy to do. With embracing this new instinct comes diagonal slashes, lines, and geometric shapes that are a symbolic representation of the word “No”. 

As an advocate of layering and colour-blocking, the designer exhibits her ability to harmoniously bring together textures and print using denim, a fabric she has found herself wearing more frequently whilst adapting to the spontaneity of motherhood. The incorporation of bleached denim is a representation of this, as it is a versatile textile, whilst tie-dye patterns add an element of non-uniformity into the mix which further emphasises the unpredictability of motherhood as a whole. The collection also sports mandarin collars, asymmetrical shapes, and curved lines draped seamlessly on the brand’s distinct non-form-fitting silhouettes, which are designed with inclusivity and empowerment in mind.