Ateliana Westerlund

Wear Your Uniform

The collection's premise was to create a basis for self-belonging and identity inspired by my school uniform in the UK.

The uniform gives a sense of belonging; when you walk down the street donning a uniform, you know exactly what you represent and where you’re from, and the observer will know precisely the same without question.

From the historical research of traditional British school uniforms, I was able to transport features and traits of these onto developed oversized proportions and silhouettes reminiscent of these, and so situate the work in a contemporary fashion context. With a small notion of my identity being an afakasi (half Samoan & European), further research of my socio-cultural heritage revealed the red trim used on the 1930s American Samoan Marines uniform skirt. The red trim was used throughout this body of work as a nod to my culture. Jacquard knitted school uniform-inspired jerseys, featuring my own designed emblem, were developed at the Textile and Design Lab facility at AUT.