Sewing with the flow: Marie Webb’s designs take NSCAD students to New York Fashion Week

Marie Webb weaves her bright and beautiful designs into the fabric of NSCAD's artistic community as the Sow to Sew Project's first artist-in-residence.

Marie Webb is the Sow to Sew Project's first artist-in-residence.

There's a word commonly used to describe Marie Webb's designs: wonderful.

The Nova Scotian fashion and textile designer is the first artist-in-residence in NSCAD University's Sow to Sew Project, bringing her delightful patterns, bold prints and bright ideas to the winding halls of the Textiles/Fashion Department.

"One of the things that really excited us about Marie is that she's a very prolific designer," says Leesa Hamilton, assistant professor in the Division of Fashion and Textiles. "There is a fearlessness to her work that we love. She is such an inspiring designer, but also an amazing example of a designer with a disability who is creating incredible work, and whose work is being well-received."

From a young age, Marie demonstrated a remarkable gift for art. Encouraged by her family, she explored several mediums, before eventually gravitating towards textile and fashion design.

"It took a while for Marie to explain to me that she wanted to do fashion design," says Marie's mother, Renee Forrestall. "We first thought she wanted to be a painter, so we gave her paper and paint. But then she would take one of her drawings and wrap the paper around herself like a dress. That's when it hit us that she wanted to do fashion. It was important for us that we took her work seriously and put things in front of her that she needed."

Marie started small, using her skills in textile design to create scarves and colorful bandanas. She then moved on to clothing and accessories, ultimately launching her fashion line, Lemonade Stand Designs.

Student designers April Beattie (left) and Masoomeh Salimi Beni will be accompanying Marie Webb to New York Fashion Week this September.

SOW TO SEW ART RESIDENCY AT NSCAD

Marie's residency falls under the purview of the Sow to Sew Project, which received a generous gift of $500,000 from the Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation to expand NSCAD's textile and fashion program. This includes bursaries for graduate and undergraduate students in the program, welcoming artists-in-residence, hosting a speaker series and symposium, and providing sustainable materials for students to utilize in their creative practice.

"Aside from the residency, we were able to use Art Factory funding to hire two students to work with Marie, and we also have funding from Arts Nova Scotia to hire a third student," says Leesa.

This residency is not only a chance for NSCAD to expand its reach within the wider artistic community, it is also a valuable opportunity for students to learn new methods of design from Marie.

"Marie creates work that's asymmetrical, and structurally very difficult to understand and conceive," Leesa explains. "We have to experiment with a lot of different materials, the patterning, the making of shape- it is very complicated. But that makes it a perfect challenge for students. Lots of problem-solving, which is very exciting."

For recent graduate, Masoomeh Salimi Beni, working with Marie has been an enriching experience for her craft as a designer.

"There are no limitations in Marie's designs, which I love," she says excitedly. "As artists, we tend to put limits on ourselves but with Marie, she just goes for it."

Fourth-year student, April Beattie expresses the joy she feels coming into the studio and being surrounded by Marie's colourful designs.

"We're really lucky when she comes into the studio," she says. "It's just been a really fun challenge working with her. It has us thinking in ways that we wouldn't be thinking. She's just such a pleasure to be around."

Marie Webb is known for her bright and colourful patterns and unique structures.

HEADING TO NEW YORK FASHION WEEK

Another exciting perk for the students working with Marie during her residency is the opportunity to showcase the works they created at New York Fashion Week this September. Marie and the students will be walking down the runway with international fashion moguls and designers like Jason Wu, Adeam, Brandon Maxwell and more.

This is a dream come true for the students, offering them a chance to witness and participate in one of the most prestigious events in the fashion world.

"It almost hasn't hit us yet," says April. "We keep talking about what we're going to do when we're there, but it really hasn't hit that it's actually happening."

The students' involvement in such a high-profile event will not only bolster their portfolios, but strengthen NSCAD's standing as a mecca for budding fashion designers in the years to come. For Marie, having the students by her side in New York is a testament to the collaborative spirit that has defined her residency at NSCAD.

"I want people to see the work and be inspired," she says. "Everyone has worked hard on this collection and I can't wait for everyone to see that."

FUTURE ASPIRATIONS

As Marie approaches the end of her residency in August, she already has big plans for herself and her business.

"I want to open a shop in New York," she says with excitement. "That is my biggest dream!"

For Leesa, hosting Marie as an artist-in-residence has been a fruitful experience for NSCAD's fashion department, as she has seen her students become bolder in their designs.

"A lot of times, people design to their skill level and they tone things down a little bit because they think, 'I can't possibly make that,'" she says. "But Marie designs things that may seem impossible to make, and have a lot of unanswered questions to them. I think there's a real bravery in that; she appears to be unencumbered by fear when she designs and I would love to see our students lean into that."

April says working with Marie has changed the way she approaches fashion design and her creative practice.

"The biggest lesson I've learned is design first and then work it out later," she says. "When I'm designing I think about things like, pleats here, ruffles there, and so on. Marie just goes straight into the designs without thinking of technicalities, and then it's our job to figure out how that happens. So, I think it could be really helpful in my own practice to design first and figure out the details later."

"For myself, my biggest lesson is that you can be inspired by anything," says Masoomeh. "Express things as they come out of you, trust your gut, and trust your intuition."

Leesa hopes that Marie's success at NSCAD will encourage a more diverse range of applications for the next artist-in-residence in the Sow to Sew Project. The project currently has funding for one more residency, with priorities on sustainability and inclusion.

"We want to connect with Nova Scotian communities who are perhaps underrepresented in our department at this point," she says. "It'd be great to make stronger ties to Indigenous and Black Nova Scotian communities, particularly in the fashion industry."

For inquiries about the Sow to Sew Project reach out to the Sow to Sew Project Coordinator, Valérie Frappier at [email protected].