"Let the Flowers Speak: Act. i is the precursor to my upcoming Spring/Summer 2025 Collection. Over the course of the past year, I had spent much of my time investigating non-traditional approaches to sustainable fashion. In my research, I often found that where sustainability was a priority in fashion design, artistic expression was deprioritized. Before finding my visual inspiration, I knew that no matter what, I wanted to value both sustainability and artistic expression equally.

I've been always been interested in the way that nature, flora specifically, has been used to reflect gender, sexuality and the human experience in visual art. Some of my favorite visual artists: Georgia O'Keefe, Hilma af Klint and Ruth Asawa all employed these parallels in their work. The goal of this collection, visually, was to add to this story from my own perspective. Each look representing a flower or insect through color, form, texture and relationship to the wearer.

I believe that lowering both consumption and production of textile goods is the only path toward creating a more sustainable fashion industry. In order to achieve this, I look to create adaptive garments that conform to the body as it changes over time and I utilize zero-waste pattern-making techniques and up-cycled material as much as possible. Each look in this collection utilizes at least one of these methods."

"I began getting involved in student publications my sophomore year of undergrad. While multiple fashion student magazines existed on campus, none of them had a relationship with the Design Studies department. Journalism and visual art students who were interested in Fashion Editorial production relied on ready-to-wear from their own closets to style photoshoots, while fashion students settled for iPhone quality photo documentation of their work before storing them in garment bags at the back of their closets. With The Issue, I wanted to unite creative students of all backgrounds in order to create high quality, meaningful collaborative projects that documented student work. More importantly, however, my goal was to create a safe space and community for students like myself who felt disposable or tokenized in other similar organizations on campus. 

The Issue has become a student organization like no other, producing professional-grade content and events, while fostering individual growth and a culture of respect and inclusivity. This year, The Issue provided any interested student with an expenses-paid trip to the Michigan Fashion Media Summit, Hosted the second annual Issue Fashion Week and produced three publications highlighting student work and current events. The Issue was also given the Bucky's Award for "Best New Student Organization" by the Center for Leadership and Involvement and became a partnered Student Organization to the School of Human Ecology."

As the founder and Executive Editor of The Issue, Robyn completed all publication Layout until Issue 004, which was then done collaboratively by the group. She also directed and edited many photoshoots, spreads and articles.

"While working on my case study project titled 'Eternity by 3.1 Phillip Lim', I was enrolled in a course titled 'Chinese Calligraphy and Wellness' . This course, taught by a Chinese Architect and Professor Wei Dong, explored the philosophy of Feng Shui, its cultural significance, and its relationship to human and environmental wellness. In this case study, I utilized the principals of sustainable design and Feng Shui to create a capsule apparel line for Chinese fashion company 3.1 Phillip Lim.

The visual design of this collection was created strategically to prioritize  both adaptability and balance of the five elements through color, material and silhouette. Sustainable production methods were inspired by the application of Feng Shui principals of energy, popularly known for inspiring the Cradle to Cradle philosophy."