Fashion Focus | imaginary i

media release: The Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (MMoCA) is pleased to present Fashion Focus | imaginary i, a special collaboration with the Fashion Design Department at Mount Mary University. This unique pop-up highlights the portfolios and garment collections designed and handmade by students and alumni of the Milwaukee-based school.

This is the second year that the two institutions have worked together. The inaugural collaboration was sparked by a chance encounter and a thematic correlation made between the student’s collections and the exhibition on view at MMoCA. The result was a month-long pop-up exhibition in the Museum's Rooftop Lounge. 

Following the success of the previous collaboration, Mount Mary University faculty Elena Pitts and Ashley Brooks designed their course curriculum to correspond with the exhibition imaginary i, now on view at MMoCA. Using science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) as a departure point, the students designed and developed garments. Drawing inspiration from mathematical concepts such as the Fibonacci sequence, cymatics, and complex geometry, the designs creatively explore the intersection of math and art.

Fashion Focus | imaginary i not only provides an opportunity to reflect on the exhibition imaginary i, but also reveals how art, math, and science explore and seek out unknown worlds and make them tangible. Featuring work by current students Briana Coronado, Ardin Daniels, Monserrat Delgado, Erin van Handel, Aniana Robertson, Mileisis Romero-Morban, Eliana Ruiz Mary Safranski, Ro Storrs, Kailey Stout, and Leann Wolf and completed collections by graduates Nohemi Chavez and Patricia Golden, the exhibition reveals the careful calculations used to create garments. From zero waste solutions to the tensile strength of fabric, each designer visualizes data in a wearable and inspiring format.

The collaboration will be on view from December 16, 2023–February 18, 2024. Admission is always free at MMoCA. Closed Christmas Eve.

ABOUT MOUNT MARY UNIVERSITY

Mount Mary University is rated the top institution in the Midwest for social mobility, ensuring that undergraduate women of all backgrounds succeed. Sponsored by the School Sisters of Notre Dame, Mount Mary is a diverse and inclusive Catholic university located in Milwaukee, Wis., committed to social justice through 50+ undergraduate majors for women and 12 graduate programs open to all genders. #IAmMountMary