Get to Know: Mary Silloway
What are your year, major, and hometown?
Fourth-year fashion design student from Delafield, Wis.
Where all have you lived and what are your professional experiences?
I grew up in Wisconsin and upon graduation in 2007, moved to Missouri to study fashion journalism and mass communications at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
After a year and a half, I transferred to SCAD to study fashion design.
When did you decide to pursue a career in fashion?
I’ve always been interested in fashion since childhood. I watched my great-aunt sew doll clothes, and eventually taught myself to sew little accessories for my Barbies. I have always enjoyed hand-sewing, which can really be seen in my aesthetic today.
What inspires you creatively? Professionally?
Most of my inspiration comes from books or people watching. I also listen to a lot of Podcasts while working. I feel like opening your mind to different ways of thinking can really open up creativity channels that you never knew existed. I don’t have the Internet at my house and I like it that way. I try to avoid it for inspiration.
What are some of the most pressing issues facing today’s fashion designers? Models? Accessory designers?
The immediate access to ideas and creative individuals on the internet can be a fantastic tool. Original thought is increasingly stalled though because a limited amount of images are over-saturating the visual platform on the Internet. With everyone re-posting or re-pinning the same images, the pool of inspiration is diluted. The range is gone. We’re really limiting ourselves. Today we live in a world of false-innovation. Innovation is no longer when you’re the first to think of an idea. It is when you’re the first of your friends to re-post something.
Where do you see yourself five years from now?
Living with my husband, Austin, in NYC. Beyond that, who knows? Five years ago, I couldn’t have even imagined I’d be where I am today. I would hate to limit myself.
Do you have any advise for future SCAD fashion designers or those who are preparing to enter the industry?
Be open. Trust your intuition because in a lot of situations, that’s all you’ve got. You’re going to have to make a lot of tough decisions that may not work out in the end, but it was the best decision at the time. And that’s okay.
How would you categorize your aesthetic?
Clean, strict, thoughtful, odd.
Who would be your dream designer to work alongside?
Consuelo Castiglioni
When you think about the future of fashion, what do you see?
I’m really looking forward to seeing how 3-D printing will change the industry. The possibilities are really exciting.
