Havana Forgets

Earlier in the semester I did a project based on the concept of memory, the brief was to create two outfits that reflected the nature of memory as well as a personal or collective memory.

I chose to focus on a trip I took to Cuba a few years ago, the country fascinated me as it was a place of so many contrasts and overlapping influences. The difference between the crumbling houses and the pristine state owned hotels and the legacy of past leaders in the colonial facades,vintage American cars and  revolutionary murals really inspired me so I started to combine my memories of the Cuba with the history of the country.






Havana Forgets Moodboard



 

 

 

The mood of my collection was based around the ideas that the influences of the past are fading in Cuba not just physically, in the crumbling buildings built by the Spanish, but also in the memory of the population. I also wanted to focus on the contrasts existing in the country, the iconography of the revolution that is still so prominent while economic restrictions are being relaxed, overturning the established communist ideals.

 

 

 

The collection I created used layers of laser cut fabrics in a pattern mimicking the peeling paint of old Havana, distorted images of Che Guevara representing the relaxing of the communist systems, and contrasting textures to portray the ideas of the old and new. The colour pallet was mostly muted reflecting how memories fade over time but also drawing on the colours of the derelict buildings in Havana.

 

 

Havana Forgets Final Outfits