Ro Bradford is a designer born and raised in St.Louis and based in Chicago at Columbia College Chicago, studying fashion design and fashion sustainability. I have a developing and ongoing relationship with creating and interacting with equitable fashion. Maneuvering in a fashion space and knowing the environmental impact of the fashion industry raises many points of curiosity for my design practice.
“How can I, as an individual, contribute to positive environmental change, who is to be held responsible for these impacts and how do I create in an ethical and meaningful way?” This line of thinking often leaves Ro grappling with function vs beauty and the intersection between the two. What is the point of clothing with no function, and what is the point of artistic expression without beauty? In my design style, Ro lean towards what they would call functional eccentricism, invoking joy and wonder through diligent and well-experienced design, taking into account how the human body and the garment change with age and how the garment can move with its wearer throughout its lifetime. I do this by making the garment as adaptable and multifunctional as possible ensuring that it can get as much use as possible. The more Ro designs and makes, the more they learn and develop storytelling skills and personal code of ethics.
