When you look at Fashion Design BFA alumna Hee Jin Hwang’s exquisite designs, you are also seeing the impact and influence of her sculptor father.
Titled The Sculptor’s Daughter, Hwang’s capsule collection for the 2023 Supima Design Competition featured structural looks, a lot of texture, and a great deal of surface manipulation and volume. Each of the eight finalists in the Supima show created a look in twill, velveteen, jersey, denim, and shirting, using Supima cottons. The runway competition took place in early September, and the finalists were mentored by noted designer and FIT alumnus Bibhu Mohapatra.
“My dad was a sculptor, and I consider every one of my pieces as sculpture,” Hwang said. “I wanted to bring volume and structural effect into the garments, which is why I did a lot of surface manipulation and surface treatment. The texture I’m channeling in fashion is his inspiration and his taste. In order to do that, I did a lot of hand smocking. He molded ceramic;I molded fabric.”
Hwang, who grew up in South Korea, won a $25,000 CFDA scholarship in 2022 and was a finalist in the 2023 Macy’s x FIT Capsule: The Every Body Collection.
Check out a slideshow of Hwang’s looks from the Supima runway show in September.