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 Anna often draws on her former career as a professional ballet dancer in her design and textile work, drawing on the idea of creativity and movement.ARTSTHREAD: Can you explain the thinking behind the key concepts and outcomes of your project? Anna Vescovi: When I began my journey with joinery, I worked on simple acrylic blouses which remained rudimentary in structure. The leap into full-scale garmentry came naturally as I wanted to develop uncharted realms of scale, shape and pattern. All of my work, especially this series of garments, remains intentional while relating to an overarching narrative. My intention is to capture the physical and psychological impact of my ballet experience in a way which isn’t too harrowing for younger audiences. The unconventional beauty of the garments allegorically relates to the cosmetic standards of the industry, with joinery’s restrictive qualities connecting to a heavier subject matter of emotional diminution. ARTSTHREAD: Are you 100% back on campus or are you still working all/partly from home? Please describe your environment? Anna Vescovi: At SCAD, we are very fortunate to have transitioned back into a full on-ground learning experience. As a textile student, hands on learning is imperative for our practice. The fibers department had been thoughtful in modifying our curriculum to a virtual experience during COVID, but it is incredibly rewarding to return to hands-on learning with our jacquard looms, screen-printing studio and fully accessible laboratory facilities. One primary highlight is thriving off the reciprocated creative energy of my creative faculty and peers. ARTSTHREAD: Has being back on campus given you a new perspective on the university/your class colleagues/tutors? Anna Vescovi: There is an undeniably rejuvenated atmosphere within our academic spaces. We carry a greater appreciation for textile design than ever before, considering the widespread reluctance towards tactility in the last several years. With reacquainted comforts regarding touch, we note a child-like curiosity surrounding the qualities of materiality.  Anna's final collection, entitled Mirror Mirror, analyses the juxtaposition between past and present through freedom and confinement.ARTSTHREAD: Has the need for online learning changed your outcomes? Anna Vescovi: Myself and many of my colleagues have turned our attention towards digital forms of fibers studies such as computer aided design (CAD) over the last two years. Once we returned to an on-ground atmosphere, there was an urgency to weave on the department looms, operate the sewing machines and utilize digital lab technologies such as SCAD’s laser cut machine and 3D modeling applications. Through isolation, it was imperative to remain curious. I took the creative liberty of working with digital surface illustration and ideating the collection garments for my senior line-up. ARTSTHREAD: Did you need to innovate when you had to work by yourself at home? Anna Vescovi: Innovation and flexibility remained essential. Instead of using the resources provided by my university which remained unavailable at that time, outsourcing was obliged in the progression of my work. Contracting and collaboration is a necessary skill within fashion, I feel grateful I was able to adapt to those demands to best prepare for my professional future. ARTSTHREAD: What's one thing that has helped you get through the last 2 years? Anna Vescovi: Resilience. For the first time in my design career, I've faced both unconventional and innovative challenges on behalf of my work and creative endurance. I've been faced with technical roadblocks which sent me back to the drawing board and developed designs which didn't always work upon sourcing availability. Creative burnout in the midst of a virtual learning environment remained an inevitable roadblock all faced by all young artists and designers, leading to a big question mark beside our value of self worth. Speaking from experience, a resilient mindset lights the way to steadfast perseverance. Despite the setbacks of this decade, I feel confident in the lessons and accomplishments achieved throughout my academic years. ARTSTHREAD: What are the most positive learning outcomes from this process? Anna Vescovi: Patience has never been my strong suit, I’d often jumped into my creative endeavors with a full heart and definitive mindset. While this might sound ideal in concept, it often prevented the invitation for feedback and flexible thinking. Through my series of garments, I've mastered the art of composure through artisanal handiwork. Joinery's tedious process is incredibly intricate and mustn't be rushed due to its fragile nature and mathematical precision. In the modern age of fast-paced media trends followed by the urge to meet the expeditious expectations of the design industry, I've learned to accept the art of slowing down and to righteously absorb this historic technique with love and ruminative intention. ARTSTHREAD: How do you think design can help improve the world? Anna Vescovi: There is an undeniable sense of urgency surrounding the ethics of fashion. Lidewij Edelkoort has composed a declarative manifesto which is an excellent example of industry accountability. In recognizing our former missteps, the collective field can best advance planetary and humanitarian morals. The revolution of design begins at the core of empathy and at the helm of divergent thinking! As a textile designer, I’ve had the privilege of experiencing the intricate processes of fabric production from digital screen to fabricated seam. The industry is beginning to see a variety of designers gravitating towards second-hand materials, technological advancements, bio-engineered textiles and scientific developments in effort to provide ethical alternatives for high fashion and ready-to-wear application. To be successful in these endeavors, both consumers and designers must practice patience; to be patient in sourcing, patient in practice and patient in profit. Through our humanitarian crisis, we continue to see cutting edge ideas and forward thinking efforts. The marriage of unbridled curiosity and cutting-edge development delivers new possibilities for the industry; it is exciting to contribute to this groundbreaking moment in design history. ARTSTHREAD: What are your hopes for the future? Anna Vescovi: What's next for this collection of garments? I will certainly be creating more looks; ambitiously pushing new ideas farther than ever before. I'd love to work alongside the atelier team for Paco Rabanne as a chef de produit maille et mesh. I have also entertained the thought of creating my own label to produce and market more unconventional ready-to-wear garments. Ultimately, there are endless possibilities of what the next big chapter could hold! One of the greatest gifts of being a creative individual is our open heart and inquisitive mindset. ARTSTHREAD: Thank you Anna - we wish you all the very best! See Anna’s ARTSTHREAD Portfolio Images in slider: Anna Vescovi dancing and her work Our Global Design Graduate Show 2022 in collaboration with Gucci is open internationally to all art and design undergraduate or postgraduate students graduating in the Academic Year 2021-22 and the deadline to apply is August 31 2022. 
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In advance of the deadline for Global Design Graduate Show 2022 in collaboration with Gucci, we interview Anna Vescovi, a 2022 graduating student from Savannah College of Art & Design, BFA Fibers.
Our Global Design Graduate Show 2022 in collaboration with Gucci is open internationally to all art and design undergraduate or postgraduate students graduating in the Academic Year 2021-22 and the deadline to apply is August 31 2022.
See Anna’s ARTSTHREAD Portfolio
ARTSTHREAD:Where are you from?
Anna Vescovi: I was born in Branford, Connecticut but have been fortunate to live in Miami, Copenhagen and Boston before pursuing academic endeavors at the Savannah College of Art and Design.
ARTSTHREAD: What is the name, theme, concept and final outcome of your graduate project/thesis?
Anna Vescovi: Through the narrative voice of textiles, the acrylic garment series was designed for my thesis work as a means to connect psychology with properties of tactility. The overarching thesis, Mirror Mirror, analyses the juxtaposition between past and present through freedom and confinement with the garments serving as an allegorical parallel to my ballet career. As a former professional dancer, the joy of ballet I’d once known as a child dissipated under contractual obligations of an aesthetically oriented industry. The intended material choice of acrylic joinery is made to restrict the form in a way which prohibits motion, symbolizing the complex internal feeling of entrapment experienced in my career. Despite the dark undertones of the collection, the completion of this undertaking has encouraged reconciliation with the past, perfectly timed as I embark on my professional career into the world of textiles.
ARTSTHREAD:Can you describe your concept and creative process?
Anna Vescovi: When I had begun dancing at a young age, I grew fascinated by the way movement and music served as a liberating form of self expression. When I’d pursued my training at a professional level, the intention of most directors and choreographers was for their artists to achieve an idealistic cosmetic appearance. The purpose of this collection of garments is to provide a psychological feeling of restriction through textile developments of the joinery process. These garments are made to look radiant on their surface, yet prohibit the freedom of creative movement.
Behind each effortless fashion collection lies an intense labor process filled with months of technical ideation. When speaking on behalf of a collection lineup, trend research is key. Looking towards fashion's historical past is also crucial in understanding the direction of a progressive industry. From this research, a variety of fashion flats are illustrated to best decide the intricate details of the garment at hand. Next is the meticulously mathematical process of investigating prototypes. Adobe files are submitted to the lab to be laser cut in a variety of samples, to which a favorite is selected for the garment’s completed materialization. Once the final cuts are made for the large-scale order, the joinery is assembled in the technical pattern decided at the beginning of the ideation process. After many laborious hours, the final garment is physically altered to the model who will wear the look for the editorial shoot.
Anna often draws on her former career as a professional ballet dancer in her design and textile work, drawing on the idea of creativity and movement.ARTSTHREAD: Can you explain the thinking behind the key concepts and outcomes of your project?
Anna Vescovi: When I began my journey with joinery, I worked on simple acrylic blouses which remained rudimentary in structure. The leap into full-scale garmentry came naturally as I wanted to develop uncharted realms of scale, shape and pattern.
All of my work, especially this series of garments, remains intentional while relating to an overarching narrative. My intention is to capture the physical and psychological impact of my ballet experience in a way which isn’t too harrowing for younger audiences. The unconventional beauty of the garments allegorically relates to the cosmetic standards of the industry, with joinery’s restrictive qualities connecting to a heavier subject matter of emotional diminution.
ARTSTHREAD: Are you 100% back on campus or are you still working all/partly from home? Please describe your environment?
Anna Vescovi: At SCAD, we are very fortunate to have transitioned back into a full on-ground learning experience. As a textile student, hands on learning is imperative for our practice. The fibers department had been thoughtful in modifying our curriculum to a virtual experience during COVID, but it is incredibly rewarding to return to hands-on learning with our jacquard looms, screen-printing studio and fully accessible laboratory facilities. One primary highlight is thriving off the reciprocated creative energy of my creative faculty and peers.
ARTSTHREAD: Has being back on campus given you a new perspective on the university/your class colleagues/tutors?
Anna Vescovi: There is an undeniably rejuvenated atmosphere within our academic spaces. We carry a greater appreciation for textile design than ever before, considering the widespread reluctance towards tactility in the last several years. With reacquainted comforts regarding touch, we note a child-like curiosity surrounding the qualities of materiality.
Anna's final collection, entitled Mirror Mirror, analyses the juxtaposition between past and present through freedom and confinement.ARTSTHREAD: Has the need for online learning changed your outcomes?
Anna Vescovi: Myself and many of my colleagues have turned our attention towards digital forms of fibers studies such as computer aided design (CAD) over the last two years. Once we returned to an on-ground atmosphere, there was an urgency to weave on the department looms, operate the sewing machines and utilize digital lab technologies such as SCAD’s laser cut machine and 3D modeling applications.
Through isolation, it was imperative to remain curious. I took the creative liberty of working with digital surface illustration and ideating the collection garments for my senior line-up.
ARTSTHREAD: Did you need to innovate when you had to work by yourself at home?
Anna Vescovi: Innovation and flexibility remained essential. Instead of using the resources provided by my university which remained unavailable at that time, outsourcing was obliged in the progression of my work. Contracting and collaboration is a necessary skill within fashion, I feel grateful I was able to adapt to those demands to best prepare for my professional future.
ARTSTHREAD: What's one thing that has helped you get through the last 2 years?
Anna Vescovi: Resilience. For the first time in my design career, I've faced both unconventional and innovative challenges on behalf of my work and creative endurance. I've been faced with technical roadblocks which sent me back to the drawing board and developed designs which didn't always work upon sourcing availability. Creative burnout in the midst of a virtual learning environment remained an inevitable roadblock all faced by all young artists and designers, leading to a big question mark beside our value of self worth. Speaking from experience, a resilient mindset lights the way to steadfast perseverance. Despite the setbacks of this decade, I feel confident in the lessons and accomplishments achieved throughout my academic years.
ARTSTHREAD: What are the most positive learning outcomes from this process?
Anna Vescovi: Patience has never been my strong suit, I’d often jumped into my creative endeavors with a full heart and definitive mindset. While this might sound ideal in concept, it often prevented the invitation for feedback and flexible thinking.
Through my series of garments, I've mastered the art of composure through artisanal handiwork. Joinery's tedious process is incredibly intricate and mustn't be rushed due to its fragile nature and mathematical precision. In the modern age of fast-paced media trends followed by the urge to meet the expeditious expectations of the design industry, I've learned to accept the art of slowing down and to righteously absorb this historic technique with love and ruminative intention.
ARTSTHREAD: How do you think design can help improve the world?
Anna Vescovi: There is an undeniable sense of urgency surrounding the ethics of fashion. Lidewij Edelkoort has composed a declarative manifesto which is an excellent example of industry accountability. In recognizing our former missteps, the collective field can best advance planetary and humanitarian morals. The revolution of design begins at the core of empathy and at the helm of divergent thinking!
As a textile designer, I’ve had the privilege of experiencing the intricate processes of fabric production from digital screen to fabricated seam. The industry is beginning to see a variety of designers gravitating towards second-hand materials, technological advancements, bio-engineered textiles and scientific developments in effort to provide ethical alternatives for high fashion and ready-to-wear application. To be successful in these endeavors, both consumers and designers must practice patience; to be patient in sourcing, patient in practice and patient in profit. Through our humanitarian crisis, we continue to see cutting edge ideas and forward thinking efforts. The marriage of unbridled curiosity and cutting-edge development delivers new possibilities for the industry; it is exciting to contribute to this groundbreaking moment in design history.
ARTSTHREAD: What are your hopes for the future?
Anna Vescovi: What's next for this collection of garments? I will certainly be creating more looks; ambitiously pushing new ideas farther than ever before. I'd love to work alongside the atelier team for Paco Rabanne as a chef de produit maille et mesh. I have also entertained the thought of creating my own label to produce and market more unconventional ready-to-wear garments. Ultimately, there are endless possibilities of what the next big chapter could hold! One of the greatest gifts of being a creative individual is our open heart and inquisitive mindset.
ARTSTHREAD: Thank you Anna - we wish you all the very best!
See Anna’s ARTSTHREAD Portfolio
Images in slider: Anna Vescovi dancing and her work
Our Global Design Graduate Show 2022 in collaboration with Gucci is open internationally to all art and design undergraduate or postgraduate students graduating in the Academic Year 2021-22 and the deadline to apply is August 31 2022.