Written by Katie Burke, Photographs by Katie Burke
“Ever since I became a part of the SCAD community, I fell in love with the amount of collaboration across majors. I’m the type of person who likes to cross disciplines to gain different perspectives project to project,” said Matthew Huntley, a second-year fashion design student.
Huntley knew he wanted to work with clothes ever since he was in high school. He combined his love for drawing and dressing up for school into his career. He is influenced by the environment and the people around him.
Huntley said, “’Who’ influences my work will always be the people who have allowed me to exist today. The people who have made tremendous sacrifices just for me to chase my dreams. Those people are in my head from start to finish of every project because I strive to pay them back someday.”
Huntley is currently working with friends on a magazine that showcases ten artists of different career fields, backgrounds and talents. Their central theme is personal growth throughout the pandemic. “The title of our magazine is UNCERTIFIED. The meaning behind the name is that you don’t have to be highly acclaimed or certified for your passion to be relevant. You pursue your passion because, at the end of the day, it fulfills you. As long as you make art for fulfillment and not for fame, then you are aiming to inspire. We call the project “A Platform for The Passionate.” Collaboration should be mutualistic. Both parties should benefit from it.” said Huntley.
My last question for Huntley was if he had any advice for future bees studying fashion design. He said, “My advice for any incoming fashion students is to change the narrative. Change the norm. We are beyond the time where we have to associate a garment to an appropriate gender, much less cater to one specific body type. Make clothes for inclusivity with sustainability in mind. I think that the generation of upcoming designers will change how we interpret fashion for good.”
Keep up to date with me on my Instagram and follow along with Huntley’s journey on his Instagram.
