UCLA 2021

Thesis

For my graduate thesis, I reimagined Disney’s animated classic Atlantis: The Lost Empire as a stage performance. Rather than a musical, since the original piece was an action adventure, I incorporated circus arts as a storytelling device in the style of the Looking Glass Theatre.

Adapting this piece began with rewriting the script. I have always been enamored with the vibrant cast of characters in the film, but wanted more Atlantean agency and development. I also needed to smooth out some plot holes for stage. Then the world-building began.

For the explorers, I was heavily influenced by Futurist art of the mid 1910s, and the military uniforms, especially of pilots and naval explorers. I imagined Atlantis having been located in the location of the modern day Mariana Trench, the deepest point in the ocean, so my Atlantean fashion pulls from deep sea creatures, as well as ancient styles from around the Pacific Rim, especially New Guinea and Maori cultures. I’ve also pulled in influences from Art Nouveau and Ballet Russes, since these styles would have been prevalent influences in 1914 (when the piece is set).

UCLA 2020

Scenic and Costume design for the opera Prism, music by Ellen Reid, Libretto by Roxie Perkins.

Designs done for Dorothy Chandler Pavillion at the LA Opera, in collaboration with Director James Darrah.

UCLA 2020

Costume Renderings for Wallis Simpson in W.E.

I had the honor of working with the costume designer for W.E. Arianne Phillips, to complete these concept renderings for the character of Wallis.

UCLA 2019

Costume and production designs for the opera Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss.

This frothy farce takes place in 1750s Vienna, and pokes fun at the formality, gravitas and pomp of the elite.

For the setting, I took inspiration from the marvelous juxtaposition in Vienna between Baroque and Jungendstil artistic movements. Baroque palaces such as Schonnbrunn have later art nouveau style additions, and Secessionist decorative styles play beautifully with the ostentatious architecture of the 18th century. In my costumes, classic 1750s silhouettes meet Mucha-style floral motifs and ornamentation.

To mirror the farcical mixed messages and surreptitious meddling that takes place in the opera, I incorporated Floriography, a means of cryptic communication throughout the use or arrangement of flowers in the motifs for each character.

UCLA 2019

Concept Sketches for Pleasantville (1998), designed by Judianna Makovsky

Renderings shown in Full Color and Desaturated 90%, based on the techniques used during filming to desaturate the 50s town.

UCLA 2021

Costume renderings and research for a fantasy remount of Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.

UCLA, 2020

UCLA 2019

In 1983, the first black man went to space, but the ‘space’ films of the 70s and 80s were shockingly white. I imagine Dorothy, sitting in her room in Kansas, watching the space launch- and getting sucked into the wonderful Planet of Oz. I drew inspiration from 1970s and 80s space flicks and TV shows, as well as Harlem Vogue, and fashion designers such as Thiery Mugler. The result is vibrant, explosive and extremely fun- just like the source material.

UCLA, 2019

Concept renderings for the original pilot of GLOW, a fun and amazingly 80s show about the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling.

UCLA, 2019

Concept renderings and shopping for the pilot episode of POSE, a show about the Harlem Ball Scene in the 80s.

UCLA 2018

Costume Sketches and Budgeting for the pilot episode of the TV show Black Lightning, a project from my first quarter at UCLA TFT Graduate School.

My concept is to use the show as a platform to showcase Black fashion designers and Black-owned and operated fashion labels. TV has a remarkable ability to reach people, and collaboration with these wonderful and talented designers would be mutually beneficial and inspiring.

This was my first ever project using photoshop, and I’m incredibly proud of the results! We were critiqued by some of the real designers of the show, Laura Jean Shannon and her team. It was a remarkable opportunity and a rewarding project!

UCLA 2019

Designs for William Shakespeare’s The Tempest.

I chose to set this show in the Caribbean, taking inspiration from Panamanian textiles and Haitian Vodou culture for the magic of the show. This plot centers heavily around colonialism, and the Spanish and French colonization of the Caribbean islands is remarkably poignant with the storyline.

Kidcore Photobashing

UCLA 2021

Conceptual sketches done in my Procreate class, based on the style ‘Kidcore”- a movement which involves oversized, bright, and childish clothes.