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Perry Schmitz learned how to sew at a young age from her grandmother and father, but wasn’t sure where she would fit inside the fashion industry.
When she walked into the Nancy Cantor Warehouse on campus, everything changed.
“It was love at first sight,” Schmitz, a Syracuse University senior, said. “It sounds silly, but I fell in love with a staircase in the Warehouse. That’s how I realized I belonged here.”
Schmitz has fashion in her family line, including relatives who sew and a grandmother she describes as “incredibly fashionable.” Taking inspiration from her lineage, Schmitz uses fashion to communicate bold and subversive messages, she said
Preparing to close out her time at SU, Schmitz is showcasing her senior thesis, “The Feminine Form,” on April 25. The exhibit is a six-piece clothing collection showcased on a runway, accompanied by a short film and editorial shoot Schmitz made in collaboration with fellow students from the College of Visual and Performing Arts and Newhouse School of Public Communications.
Schmitz’s thesis is a collection of outfits representing six different topics that have shaped her into the woman she is today. Schmitz grew up in a small town in New Hampshire and said coming to SU gave her a “worldly perspective” through internships and other opportunities. She aimed to push her creative boundaries when showcasing her collection.
SU fashion design associate professor Todd Conover has taught Schmitz for the last four years. Conover said he has seen Schmitz grow as a student through her time at SU.
“Perry came in with basic fashion knowledge like any other design student, and quickly learned that the industry isn’t necessarily what you think,” Conover said. “She learned that the most important thing for an artist to be is inspired.”
Perry Schmitz received the Craftsmanship Excellence award at the annual School of Design Senior Capstone Fashion Show on March 19. Schmitz is ending her Syracuse University fashion journey with her senior thesis on April 25. Courtesy of Perry Schmitz
Schmitz draws creativity from her personal style, she said. She described her sense of fashion as a mix of masculine and feminine energy and said she enjoys pushing boundaries as a form of expression.
“I find fashion to be very political,” Schmitz said. “The way I dress reflects the way I see myself in the world.”
The clothes themselves play with bold tones of green, purple and brown. Some ensembles are decidedly feminine, with flowing silhouettes and light, airy fabric. A tan turtleneck dress is inspired by Schmitz’s grandmother, and her experience as a teacher and real estate agent; it was difficult not to rip her stockings during her workday. In response, Schmitz created the gown by ripping out threads of silk. The intentional rip reclaims what it means to be a woman, and represents the social expectation to put in immense effort to look “clean” and refined, Schmitz said.
The other garments have harsher lines and cuts, akin to menswear. One piece is an oversized yellow suit. The suit represents data bias – the idea that a lack of women in professional fields leads to a lack of representation. Schmitz rejects the concept of the “invisible women” with the suit in a bold color, texture and structure. The nude undershirt symbolizes the female form that women try to hide when conforming to masculine roles. However, the striking nature of the suit represents the beauty and power women hold as professionals, Schmitz said.
Conover said that where an artist, like Schmitz, draws inspiration from is the jumping off point not only for their design, but their message as well.
“That’s what I love about Perry, she harnesses inspiration in a different way,” Conover said. “Where some students can worry about time periods or external aesthetics, Perry takes things from her own life that are much more raw and esoteric.”
Going to Syracuse University gave Perry Schmitz the ability to push creative boundaries, she said. From intentional rips to harsh lines, Schmitz created pieces to communicate bold and subversive messages. Tara Deluca | Asst. Photo Editor
SU fashion design senior Charlotte McNair met Schmitz the second semester of their freshman years. They quickly became close friends and decided to take a fashion systems class in Paris that summer, where their friendship grew.
In the fashion design program, each senior must create a thesis as a culmination of their work. McNair said that Schmitz explored difficult, intimate topics of womanhood and identity through the outlet of fashion.
“She gets hyperfocused on things and makes big demands of herself,” McNair said. “Professors and other students always say, ‘How is she going to accomplish that?’, but she will get it done. Perry always finds a way.”
Conover said he calls himself a “maker” and an “open book,” striving to know his students on a closer level and better understand their work. Schmitz’s work has taken on a new level of maturity and refinement throughout her years at SU, he said.
Schmitz’s work itself challenges the ideas of what it means to be a woman, Schmitz said. McNair said Schmitz is interested in “the plight of womanhood.” Many of the fashion students picked subversive, complex topics for their senior theses, each with its own “je ne sais quoi,” McNair said.
“I say that the design process is like postpartum,” McNair said. “It’s like you’ve been wanting and waiting for something so long, and now that it’s done, you have to see it from a new perspective.”
Schmitz said her time at SU has taught her how to be an artist and trust herself to create. Meeting her goals, she received the Craftsmanship Excellence award at the annual School of Design Senior Capstone Fashion Show and is ending the year with opportunities to grow in the fashion industry, she said.
“The people I’ve met have definitely changed me for the better,” Schmitz said. “The girl I was when I came to Syracuse would be so proud of where we are now.”
