This project is inspired by my interest in non-verbal methods of communication and expressions of care, as well as my love for fashion and clothing. Clothing is a really intentional and thoughtful language because it’s something that is actively thought about when getting dressed every morning, and it’s very visually prominent. It’s one of the first things you see and notice when you look at someone before or regardless of a physical or verbal interaction. And even though, for instance, a blue, cotton, button-up shirt will always have those characteristics, interpretations of those attributes will vary depending on who is wearing it and who is seeing it, so there’s this very unique psychological, personal conversation and connection that happens between you and each individual that crosses your path in a day.

As I continued to research this idea, I wanted to find a way to use this language to create connection, and I felt that the idea of comfort can be understood by everyone. When I reflected on this in my personal life, the clothing that I recalled were items that my parents wore when I was a kid. And these items and the memories that I associate with them showed me that despite what I’ve thought, family is important to me, and I look back on these times when i felt that aspect of togetherness and that unique bond with gratitude and fond retrospection.