Sonder

Scene

Sonder is the profound feeling of realization that everyone, including strangers
passed by on the street, have a life as complex as one’s own, which they are constantly
living despite one’s personal lack of awareness of it. The scene consists of modern
vintage clothing designed for everyday use. These comfortable looks are designed to be
worn by those who would rather stay in and relax than go out.

Inspiration

The scene’s original name was Vellichor, which is the strange wistfulness of used
bookstores, which are somehow infused with the passage of time. Filled with thousands
of old books you’ll never have time to read, each of which is itself locked in its own era,
bound and dated and papered over like an old room the author abandoned years ago; a
hidden annex littered with thoughts left just as they were on the day they were captured.
The clothes were designed with a used bookstore and comfort in mind. Being a book
lover myself I became passionate about the scene. Taking inspiration from genres of
books and scraps of donated fabric, I began working on my scene. I started working on
images that would be transferred onto the shirts I was making. I came up with many
images, with only a few making the final cut. I made some of the clothing from scratch
while others were made by upcycling. For most looks, I made one garment and used
styling to complete them. Some looks, I made most of the pieces, and other looks were
all styling.

Changes and Challenges

With the arrival of Coronavirus and the original fashion show being cancelled we
were challenged with coming up with a new idea for the show. One idea that was
proposed was filming the scene with all of the models in a specific location, and
combining all of the different scenes to create a video version of the show. However,
with social distancing, this was not an option. The final idea that was approved was a
look book featuring sections for each scene. These sections would feature videos,
pictures and the emotional journeys of the scene coordinators.
This idea came with the condition that we couldn’t come into contact with anyone
outside of our household. With many of my outfits already made, I had to either send
the models their outfits, or come up with a way to feature clothes without models. With
the deadline being moved up by two weeks, I chose to not use models for the clothes I
had already made. I then made one more outfit and made the choice for the remaining
looks to be styled from things owned by my family members. The choice to change the
name of the scene was not an easy one. I had been working on Vellichor for many
months at that point and it felt strange to change the name. However, the photography
options for Vellichor were limited and had me straining for ideas. With sonder, however,
the ideas began to form a story that could be told though my scene. This story told
how people were able to keep busy during social distancing and quarantine. With so
many people being confined to their houses during this time, telling how they kept busy
felt like a great way to show the complexity of each individual’s life and how they choose
to spend the seemingly endless time on their hands. This opened up many directions
that I could take the scene and ultimately, ended as the reason the name was changed.
The clothing however, stayed the same.
I enjoyed creating this scene and I’m grateful to everyone who helped me to create it.