jessi abramovitz

Project statement

My final year project, Sweating Superheroes, pays homage to the 90s throwback VHS cartoon videos I loved watching in my childhood. I would spend hours immersed in my inner world, surrounded by dolls and toys, watching “The Powerpuff Girls”, “Dance Workout with Barbie”, “Jem and the Holograms”, “Sailor Moon” and “She-Ra: Princess of Power”. As an adult, I’ve found new joy participating in fitness studio classes like SoulCycle but struggled finding workout garments that reflected my love for sparkles and cute colors in my size. Thus began my interest in designing adorable activewear! In January 2022 while studying textile techniques at Bath Spa University, I was able to learn new skills and expand my vision for this activewear collection. I used my studio time to dye jersey fabrics (cotton & bamboo) in different shades of pink, purple and blue, and then went on to screen printing & foiling a star motif in a variety of sizes.  

While in the UK, I also got to visit the Fashion & Textile Museum in London. It was founded by Dame Zandra Rhodes, a famous textile and fashion designer who most recently created a capsule collection with IKEA for Fall 2021. Being in London at her museum the last day of my trip, I realized the love I'd had for her work over the prior term and unlocked my own passion for designing a pop and glam look using textile design and an aggressive use of my pink and purple color palette. My first trip to Europe ended with me incredibly inspired by my experiences, along with an extra suitcase filled with self-designed fabrics! Back home, I used double-sided adhesives on my textiles, cut out my stars, and fused them together, creating an appliqué motif that mimics the end screen of one of my favorite female superhero cartoons! On the varsity stripe shirt, the stars are finished with a single bead, elevating the garment to live up to the shining AND sparkling vision for my collection. There are even more cartoon heroines on screen today compared to the 90s and early 2000s. Shows like "The Powerpuff Girls", "Sailor Moon" and "She-Ra: Princesses of Power" have seen a fresh reboot, while newcomers like "Star Vs. The Forces of Evil" and "Steven Universe" bring new depths of diversity and inclusion to the action-packed female animation space. By developing activewear for a multitude of femmes in different shades and sizes, my intention is to inspire people to feel just as strong and magical as the amazing heroines they've seen on TV. When they wear my garments, I hope they can embody mystical power and beauty that's already inside their hearts! This look is on display alongside the rest of my collection at the Student Center on 754 S Wabash Ave for Manifest 2022.  

About the Artist

Jessi is an emerging fashion & lifestyle designer in the Chicago area. She began curating her iconic cute color palette in the earliest parts of her childhood, just when her love for unicorns, toys, and fashion was born. Jessi was admitted to the Columbia College Chicago High School Institute for Fashion Studies following her high school graduation in 2014. Jessi moved to Chicago to attend Columbia College Chicago in 2016 and enrolled as a Fashion Studies student in 2018. Her strength carried her through many tumultuous life transitions including (but not limited to) balancing working retail and part-time studies while surviving the pandemic. In the summer of 2021, Jessi began her career in the fashion industry through an apparel design internship with Kohl’s department stores. She worked on a private label children's apparel team- which opened her eyes to the realities of designing ready-to-wear retail. Her experience with Kohl’s encouraged her to expand her creative and professional life further than she could have dared to envision for her final year of undergraduate studies. Jessi has spent the last year as a full-time student, working as a teaching assistant for the Fashion Design Principles course. She’s used her first-hand industry experience and garment construction knowledge to foster students’ digital design skills at the fundamental level. In January 2022 Jessi went abroad on a faculty-led program to the United Kingdom for an immersive textile techniques program at Bath Spa University and came back with a deeper interest in a range of textile design skills.

Connect

Email: www.jessimoonheart.com