Symbols of girlhood danced down the runway as Eve Gil’s “Figs and Dragons” collection was shown at Swansea Fashion Week. The newly graduated sustainable designer unveiled her own exploration into adolescence through richly embroidered, upcycled garments.
Central to Gil’s creative ethos was her eco-conscious approach of breathing new life into second-hand and repurposed materials. “I mainly work with second-hand and upcycled fabrics, creating unique and interesting pieces that have both a past and future,” explained the designer. Discarded embroideries were scavenged from charity shops, their anonymous histories stitched into each sculptural silhouette.
Gil drew inspiration from the metaphor of the fig tree in Sylvia Plath’s writing – how “life branching out” which represents the different choices and paths of girlhood. “I began to think about and explore how in the age of girlhood there is much joy to be found, many choices to be made, many different avenues to go down and explore and many pitfalls and dangers lurking around every corner to avoid,” Gil reflected. Her collection poetically embodied both the excitement and anxiety of that phase.
Ethereal skirts adorned with lush blooms stylishly clad onto the models, paired with embellished jackets inspired by proverbial fig trees. Floral embroidery and repurposed trims created a dreamy, nostalgic aesthetic that nodded to the limited arts accessible to young women of previous eras. As Gil remarked, “The clothes managed to feel so delicate yet defiant – just like adolescence itself.”
Gliding down the catwalk, the lithe models appeared plucked from the romanticised pages of a girlhood memoir. With tousled bedhead and minimal makeup, they exuded both innocence and quiet self-assurance. “The way the models moved gave such incredible life to Gil’s creations,” praised one attendee. “You could sense their youthful energy infusing the clothes.”
When the final looks debuted, the crowd seemed excited. Critics marveled at how Gil captured the emotions of girlhood through her unique sustainable collection. One commentator gushed, ” Eve Gil wove the beauty of adolescence into wearable, poetic works of art.”
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Written by Angel Joanne Okonkwo
Photography by Taiye Omokore
