Madisen Tayler Matney: Fashion Showcase
Madisen Tayler Matney, who goes by Madisun Moon, is a fourth-year Fashion Design student from New York City. Photo by Crosby Ignasher.
Describe the process from inception to completion of your look.
My collection began almost nine months ago… I knew that I wanted to do something related to communication. … I began looking into the insides of computers and motherboards. I started tracing images of designs, but tracing the lightness and darkness how I perceived them versus what was really there. I began draping and trying to visualize what my shapes were going to look like—how they were going to come about. Then I converted the images I draped into a coding system called ASCII, which converts images into characters. …
I knew this was all really great, but something was missing. I began looking at old photos of my Mawmaw, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. This got me to thinking that there was a glitch in our system. It wasn’t computers solely that I was intrigued by, but the human body as the computer that sometimes needs to reboot and even crashes after too much work. …
What was the experience like?
My experience was very positive because I was showing my true design aesthetic for the first time. Everyone had always seen my work evolve, but I was never one of the people who posted their work or got their work hung up in hallways or even photographed. The most important thing is I really worked on my concept and made it fun even though it was a dark idea, a paradox that was unpredictable. …
What inspires you?
The most inspiring thing to me was the conversations I had with my grandmother … and how we grew up in very different times without technology, but now this is the only way people communicate now days. No one writes letters. No one hardly ever picks up the phone. …
I wanted some things to be very literal, … like the image of her face. Oh man, she was so in awe when she saw her face on all my fabric. She didn’t understand it, but it was cute. I knew that she understood it because she smiled. That was confirmation I was doing the right thing.
Describe your aesthetic. What are you trying to accomplish?
My aesthetic is chaotic… since the department restrained and is limited because of the ten-week time frame that there is only so much you can do. If I could expand and had more time, I’m sure my collection would have only gotten bigger and shapes more complicated interlocking and layered. But that’s for another day, I am sure. …
Are you nervous about the show? How do you feel? What are your thoughts?
… I think I will be nervous when I am sitting there. I am mainly more excited to see my family. I mean, through senior year you are nothing without the support system around you. [It] is so important to be surrounded by great talented students/friends and family. I don’t think I could have survived without all those people in my life, truthfully. …
How has this prepared you for the future?
I have grown up so much these past eight months! I feel so ready to enter the work field, but hopefully graduate school first. I just applied to The Royal Academy of Fine Art in Antwerp and I find out the day before my birthday (June 23) if I get an interview. I have learned that I don’t have to go to NYC like everyone. A job is a job, but I believe that I have the ability to reach for the stars. …
What is your professional experience?
…I moved to NYC … when I was 9 years old with just my mom to pursue my modeling/acting career, which was a great learning experience. … I met this woman Yoana Baraschi when I was 14 through my best friend’s mom’s friend. I began working for her— modeling, working trade shows and then interning. I learned so much from her. She is so talented and has a lot of fun in her color palette even though it may be work wear. …
After that, my junior year here at SCAD I knew I wanted to intern somewhere still small, but maybe a larger brand or something. … I got the internship at Jonathan Simkhai that summer. … I really connected with the company and the people and it was amazing once I worked the show at MILK Studios for fashion week, I was like, “Oh man, I really want to do this. I can do this, this can be me one day.”
When did you decide to pursue a career in fashion?
… after working in the business as a model I began seeing these designers and I realized in high school I want this to be me. I wanted to be on the other side of it, however—I wasn’t an “artist.” I couldn’t draw or sew.
My mom always said ‘Maddie Moon, don’t worry. You just need to communicate what it is in your head to others…. at college you will learn that.’ I was terrified! … Once I entered fashion classes I remember coming home and being so frustrated with not knowing what to do or how to draw and I just pushed myself and kept doing it until I found a way—a style—that worked for me. I remember sitting in my closet … and crying, saying how bad I want this… whatever this may have been, I just always play that memory in my head. I knew from that moment I was going to work as hard as I could to get to where I needed to be. …
What are some of most pressing issues facing today’s fashion designers, models and accessory designers?
I think for designers it’s that you got to make money. … But I think you can do that without completely compromising yourself all the time. After all, it’s a business, but it’s also an art and you really have to make a splash. …
Also, fashion is really changing with technology. … Machines can take over some of the work and replace people, but it won’t ever entirely be that way. But you know people want fast fashion—more for less money.
As a model, it’s difficult to judge it here in Savannah, but coming from an industry worker myself it can be difficult. A lot of my friends are very well off models and you know your body is your money maker. You are a hanger for the clothes, but that doesn’t mean you get disrespected all the time. … You have to be very strong and learn to take criticism. …
Do you have advice for future designers?
Always be true to yourself. Always stick with your gut. Don’t be afraid to change or compromise, but always do what you believe in because it’s priceless when you know you have done it on your own and it’s yours and represents you. Always remember where you came from and how much you have grown. Don’t forget the people who helped you get there even if it was as small as opening a door for you. Always respect others’ work and be supportive and happy for others even if it hurts you at the moment. Mainly just love what you do with passion and drive. You can reach for the stars and beyond!
Anything else?
I am very honored to have this opportunity to speak about my collection and work and excited for everyone to see a little piece of Georgia and hope it stays on your mind.
