Student Designers

Name: Martin Robert Sanchez

Major: Theatre

Minors: Fashion Design & Business Management

How many garments will be in your collection?

The models will be modeling six “looks”, but there will be several garments including one suit, two pairs of men’s slacks, and one pair of women’s slacks, two men’s shirts, two capes, one dress, two women’s tops, and one skirt. There will be a total of 13 garments. Three pairs of gloves, one fully boned chest guard, and four hoods for accessories.

How would you best describe your design style?

I would describe my design style for this collection as a hyper abstraction of practicality, protection, versatility and comfort. There is also a desire to maintain a drop of glamour or ostentation. At times the design can appear elegant, but the rest of the time it will appear wounded.

How and when did you become interested in design?

My sophomore semester at UIW (Spring 2002), I took two theatre courses concurrently: Intro to Theatre Design, and Costume Design. I was thrown into a world of design and since then I felt an unusual urge to pursue costume design.

What types of silhouettes will you be presenting?

Having a background in costume design in the theatre program here at UIW, the silhouettes are a bit theatrical. This is evident in the collars, sleeves, hoods, and outerwear.

What were your inspirations for this collection?

In this world filled with inspiration, it is hard for a designer to limit his/her mind especially in a country with so much media and visual material available at his/her fingertips. I was able to limit my imagination to a few themes. To begin with, current events including the war in Iraq and the folks who live under the I-10 bridge at Commerce helped to inspire me. Nomads, military dress, aided me in designing and constructing functional and versatile clothing. Driving down a highway at midnight inspired my color pallet, the Postal Service, Idioteque, and a burned CD helped the ideas ooze out of my fingertips.

What fabrics will you be using?

My collection will be composed of many yards of silk, linen, and wool—some silk and linen blends, some silk and wool. Two garments will be made of cotton; some will have novelty fabrics including water resistant fabric, Lycra, rayon lace, stretch sequin fabric, and a down bed lining.

What important detail work should be noticed?

In the suit I am constructing, I have used traditional tailoring methods in a less traditional way. The linings, I suppose, are also worth noticing.

What designers do you admire, or would you most like to work with and why?

I admire the work of Frank Gehry for his bold and abstract compositions, and Alexander McQueen for constantly designing clothing that is saturated with thought. I also admire Arnulfo Maldonado (UIW theatre alum), because he is very good at what he does.

Other interests and hobbies

I enjoy reading plays, drawing, Pedro Almodovar, Café Tacuba, Manu Chao, Jose Rivera, and THEATRE!