Featured Artist: Jesse Huynh

Back to the Core by Jesse Huynh

Back to the Core by Jesse Huynh, cardboard toilet paper rolls

 

Jesse Huynh is a textile artist and fashion designer working and living in Santa Cruz, currently attending the University. Jesse works with “unconventional materials” as a rebuttal to ideas of conventional fashion design and ordinary clothing fabric, a reflection of his own attitude toward societal norms and expectations.

 

Reclaiming Cupcake by Jesse Huynh

Reclaiming Cupcake by Jesse Huynh, cupcake liners & muslin

 

“In middle school some guys in my gym class called me ‘cupcake,'” Huynh explained on his blog, Huynhspiration, which doles out updates about the artist’s process, as well as his influences. “I wasn’t ever sure if that was a shot at my size, sexuality, or both, but I designed this piece to reclaim the word and take my power back. My rainbow cupcake liner dress is a reflection of my self today. It is vibrant, powerful, and innovative. Never when I was younger did I think at 21 I’d have the success that I do now, and that comes from hard work and passion.”

The cupcake dress, or rather, Reclaiming Cupcake, sprouted from his series, Multiplicity, which aimed to create outfits out of unlikely materials without being additive nor subtractive. The artist explains: “This inspiration comes from the idea of building nests in nature…[specifically] the idea that found materials can transform into something that we identify as an entirely different entity. For example: a nest is a collection of twigs and leaves, but we don’t think of it that way; once those twigs and leaves are compiled…we simply only see it as a nest. This is the way that I present my art; the materials are no longer just found materials; they become a part of something bigger than what they were before.” Huynh refers to this as being “transformative”– a central theme to his work.

 

Divorce Dress by Jesse Huynh

Divorce Dress by Jesse Huynh, celebrity divorce papers & silk chiffon

 

Since working on Multiplicity, Jesse Huynh has launched his collection, eponymous, this year (featured below), and have had several shows within the UCSC community and beyond. The rest of his work can be seen here, and is currently taking custom gown orders (contact here).

 

Jesse Huynh with models for his collection, Eponyous

Jesse Huynh with models for his collection, Eponyous

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

No comments yet.

Leave a Reply