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6/28/14
On June 28th, 2014, I had one of those nights where my brain was sprinting a million miles an hour in every direction. Something was in the air that night, something good.
During that Summer, I had gotten into the habit of walking in Hudson Park along the river every single night. Every once in a while I would sit on a bench next to a homeless man sin
ging jazz or next to a couple enjoying the warm sticky breeze and I would write. I would write music, or I would write a bunch of random words. Whatever came out of my brain went into my humidity dampened notebook.
Nights have always been my private time to collect my thoughts and process anything and everything. I used to walk around my hometown at night years ago doing the exact same thing. I would share everything with the trees and the concrete sidewalks that I walked by.
Last Summer I got to share everything with the Hudson River. I always felt like the river liked when I wrote there. It became a part of my stories without me ever having to mention it. I shared my thoughts and ideas, and it would listen and give me advice in return. It was a very peaceful and brief relationship.
The other day, I came across the notes that I took that night on June 28th. I had written about a bridge I used to walk under in my hometown. That bridge had witnessed snapshots of my life and I tried to remember everything that the bridge would remember of me. Every scene that transpired while I walked underneath it. Th
ere weren’t many, but there were some very important ones.
That bridge saw bits of a young romance. It saw two children start to figure out who they were and grow into young adults who thought they knew more than the rest of the world. The bridge also saw the frustration and confusion those two kids felt when they figured out that they actually knew less than the rest of the world. It saw them realize that no one really knows what they are doing and it helped them learn that anyone who seems to have life figured out is a liar.
That’s who I am to that bridge: one of those foolish kids trying to make something out of nothing.
And now, years later, I am a friend of the river. I can’t decide if the river knows the same person that the bridge knew, or if the person I was when I walked under the bridge no longer exists.
March 24, 2014
Here’s To Looking Back
A popular and rather cliché motivational saying that I have heard tossed around quite a bit lately is to “never look back”. But what would happen if we really never looked back? We would never look back to our experiences, to our successes and failures, to our memories, or to our feelings of nostalgia. It is a matter of opinion, but I think reverting one’s thoughts to the past is a very important part of what forms us as a world, a nation, and individuals.
Take the power fashion house Dolce and Gabbana for example. Dolce and Gabbana have built an entire aesthetic around ancient Sicily which becomes increasingly more apparent and brilliant with every successive season. For the Winter 2015 collection, their ingenious rendering of themes from the Romantic Era (the late 18th Century to the early 19th Century) would be nonexistent if it were not for the rich cultural history that has been recorded for us to look back upon and study today.
Romanticism was about creating personal relationships with nature and emphasizing individual artists’ emotional and dispositional experiences contrived from a new world emerging out of traditional religious rigidity. The era possessed a certain enchantment that brought forth and exemplified the exploration of the human soul which is clearly epitomized with one glimpse at the Dolce and Gabbana Winter 2015 collection. Fairies who grant wishes, keys to a secret magical garden, animals who could talk to you if they so choose, whimsical elves who dance and sing in everyone’s dreams. I do not know if it was the Tchaikovsky music, the grand theatrics, or the graceful movement of the entire show, but it reminded me of a ballet: pure beauty.
Look back in order to move forward
And there it is! Looking back on the past becomes a powerful chain reaction. I had strong feelings of nostalgia when I watched the D&G show from the thirteen years that I was a ballerina who danced to Tchaikovsky every year in The Nutcracker. There were Sugar Plum Fairies, a prince who brought Clara on a journey to a magical land, and gingersnaps and candy canes who danced in Clara’s magnificently colorful dreams. Both shows actually seem quite similar to me, in the aspect of enchantment at least. The point is that I could not prevent myself from possessing such feelings of nostalgia and remembering my past.
I learned important lessons from being a ballerina, and the whole world learned important lessons from ancient Sicily. If we did not look back upon what we did or what happened in the past, we might forget and might never be able to move forward. There would be no learning curve to stop the cyclical motions that our lives would become. The past is to be learned from and admired. Maybe the saying should be altered: Always look back, but never stop moving forward.
Love, Brielle
Brielle Edborg, FIT student.
February 17, 2014
Perspective of the Creator
Why is it that the worst and most difficult times of our lives occur either when we are stuck in a rut or when everything we once thought we knew has been changed forever? We question who exactly we thought we were; and then suddenly, the mindset we have become so accustomed to having goes up into theoretical flames. Honestly, it almost seems like the whole universe comes crashing down and we are the primary target. Sound familiar?
Thealt complete whirlwind of the “worst” times of our lives more often than not turn out to be the most important growing and learning stages we encounter. The growing pains are unfortunately imperative to the process, but personally, I almost love the stinging sensation it gives me and I know that I will become incomparably stronger and more wise as a result. I imagine the tiny fibers in my brain wincing in agony as they slowly tear apart to only heal back together more durable than ever. There is an indefinite truth in the saying: “change is good”.
Nothing good can come from doing nothing…
As we mature, we naturally adapt to the temperamental balance between stagnant, almost dependent, living and unstably chaotic cyclical vicissitude. The most temperamental part of every growing pain is good old father time. I guess time management really is everything. The time it takes to heal from a breakup, the time it takes to master a technique, the time it takes to learn that magic fairies will not come and clean your dishes at night for you (you actually have to buy soap and wash them yourself), etcetera. Nothing good can come from doing nothing, but nothing good can come from doing everything either. We are inexperienced acrobats stumbling across a tightrope with no protective cushioning to buffer our fall, and we are praying that we get to the other side alive. This is real life.
Perspective is also a huge factor to our adaptation and growing process. Have you ever been with someone where time seems to literally disappear because you get along with him or her so well that time really has no purpose of existing? They are funny things, our minds. We are able to twist time into a sort of puzzle piece that fits together with our twisted and sometimes mangled puzzles of brains so that we can adapt to situations, or force situations to adapt to us, through which we allow ourselves to keep whatever it is that we consider sanity.
The world around us IS art!
And here is where art comes in. How we perceive situations that arise in our lives completely affects how we perceive the world around us. The world around us IS art! Everything is created in some way, and as artists, we are fortunate enough to contain the ability inside our souls to decide what we want to create, what we want to perceive, and how we want to perceive it. Like snowflakes and fingerprints, every single person on this earth is unique. But we have something in common that snowflakes do not. We all innately desire to maintain that which makes us unique: our own individualities.
Think about this, if every person’s individuality is a result of his own perception, and every person’s perception is his own solution, then could the solution to the most difficult trials of our lives be to morph into ourselves? Into who we are created to be? Into creators? I think so.
Love, Brielle
Brielle Edborg, FIT student.
January 6, 2014
Pieces of cultural, social, and political history
Like a little girl receiving a pony for Christmas with designer ribbons and bows to braid its hair with, I was shocked, and then filled with an overwhelming amount of excitement, when I walked into the fashion warehouse of my dreams: Evolution, a vintage designer clothing and accessories dealer out of Cincinnati, Ohio run by Tony Tiemeyer. Yes, Cincinnati Ohio. I had absolutely no idea what I was walking into: all vintage Alexander McQueen, Hermes, Zac Posen, Christian Dior, Marc Jacobs, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Christian Louboutin, and the list goes on.
Fangirling
To backtrackBrielle Fashion Student Columnist FIT a little bit, I was in Cincinnati filming my next music video “Rock The Catwalk”, which will premier in early 2014. In the song, I mention an assortment of designer names such as, Zac Posen, Hermes, and Karl Lagerfeld. My photographer had the idea of going to this fashion warehouse to film me trying on clothes for a fun scene for the video. I thought the idea was brilliant because, well, trying on clothes is the most exciting thing in the world! We arrive at the warehouse, I walk in, my mouth drops, and (because I am a teenage girl completely obsessed with everything fashion) I commence “fangirling” over everything (according to Urban Dictionary, “fangirling is the reaction a fangirl has to any mention or sighting of the object of her ‘affection’. These reactions include shortness of breath, fainting, high-pitched noises, etc.”)!!
Ok, I admit I was able to “keep my cool” a little bit, maybe less than I think, but inside I was screaming at the top of my lungs and jumping up and down.
Alexander McQueen
Whether I actually kept my cool or not, it does not matter. I realized that for the very first time I was completely surrounded with the physical and elemental works of not only my idols, but of individuals who had dedicated their lives to creation, and who have made major impacts on the worldly societies of times past. It was surreal. I literally left my fingerprints on measurable pieces of cultural, social, and even political history. The two Alexander McQueen jackets that I had the honor of wearing were particularly exciting. Alexander McQueen is undeniably unparalleled in his vision and construction. I do recognize that such a statement is a matter of opinion, but it should not be. He was simply the best.
If I were a doctor
I desire to state that every fashion student should be able to delight in wearing vintage pieces! We spend our days studying the techniques, the fabrics, and the people that bring such glories to fruition, so why should we not study the actual pieces? In fact, if I were a doctor, I would prescribe “mandatory dressing up in vintage clothes to release endorphins and feel elation” a minimum of once a month, for everyone in the fashion business, for life! What a high.
Love,
Brielle, Freshman at the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, USA
Photo: Brielle in Tony Tiemeyer’s Evolution studio wearing Chanel and Escada channeling Anna Wintour and Karl Lagerfeld simultaneously.
Photo credit: Annette Navarro
Stylist: Kelsey Wing and Tony Tiemeyer
Hair and makeup: Phillip Nathaniel Saunders
December 9, 2013
Find your life’s passion and pursue your dreams
At some point in your life, an undeniable passion grasps ahold of your soul and directs you toward whatever your fate may be. Every person is created differently and is born with a different fate; Miley Cyrus apparently was put on this Earth to make twerking and tongue-wagging famous and Zac Posen was created to pleat and drape until the mouth of every woman drops in admiration. My passion, creating art both musically and aesthetically, has been clinging to my heart for as long as I can remember and is what I believe I am meant to do. There was not a specific “eureka” moment of realization of my life’s passion, I have just always loved music and fashion.
My junior year of high school, when I started planning and thinking about my future, I freaked out a little bit. I had been touring various colleges that provided for every type of major, but I could not picture myself studying at any of them. I figured out quickly that I was not meant to be a doctor, lawyer, or any other profession that all parents dream of for their children- due to my sudden sickness at the sight of blood and my strong loathing to argue about any disagreement; although I am very good at it, and I was left unsure of who I was supposed to be. Societal expectations were not mixing well with my heart’s true desires and I eventually chose to ignore society’s pleas. Following my heart, I knew that I wanted to continue pursuing music- I had already been signed to AGP Records as a writer and a recording artist for about six months, but I also had this strong desire to incorporate the love I have always had for the craft of fashion design into my career. I was not entirely sure how to do so.
“FIT was the perfect fit for me”
Then, miraculously, I read the Teen Vogue Handbook and The Fashion Designer Survival Guide. After reading both incredibly informative “sacred texts”, how I choose to refer to those life-saving books, in which the Fashion Institute of Technology is sufficiently discussed and praised, studying fashion design, specifically at FIT, suddenly became a very enticing option for furthering my education. It clicked: music and fashion.
With my mind completely set on going to school for fashion, I toured the FIT campus March of 2013 and something about it simply, and finally, felt right. I could actually see myself living there: attending classes, joining clubs, studying in my dorm, designing, learning about the business, and actually having interests and talents in common with other students- something I have struggled with my entire life because of growing up in a small town that did not bestow many outlets through which I could express my designing capabilities or my creativity. I had read in some book or advice column that students “just know” when a college is right for them in the same way that someone “just knows” when he or she meets the person with whom he or she is destined to marry and love forever. Whoever wrote that spoke the truth; I “just knew” that FIT was the perfect fit for me, no pun intended.
November 11, 2013
Life as a freshman in NYC
New York City: Center of the Universe. Land of the fashionably brilliant and land of the fashionably challenged. Here I am, in the middle of all its beautiful chaos, trying to create my own niche in this thing we call life. Let me tell you, it is not easy, being a full-time musician and a soon-to-be full-time fashion student at the Fashion Institute of Technology.
“Me” my dream!
There is an undeniable beauty in being surrounded with an unending amount of stimulation coming from so many different directions. It is an inspiring energy that opens up possibilities previously unimagined and possibilities I have been dreaming about for my whole life.
Moving into the city has proven to be equal parts invigorating and stressful, as any move would be, but it is an incredible feeling to start a new chapter in my life; a chapter I have been calling “Me”. My dream!
It is the beginning, where the reality of the hard work I have chosen to dedicate myself to hits me like a ton of bricks. Repeat: a TON of bricks. But it is awesome, and I can already see myself maturing by gaining wisdom of the fashion and music businesses and starting to grow into my own.
New challenges present themselves every day which test my knowledge and adaptability. I know that at some point I will be pushed to my limits and I am excited, believe it or not, for everything: the good as well as the bad.
Inspiration: nothing is ever as it seems to be
Inspiration is a funny thing. It comes from everything and nothing at the same time, depending upon one’s perspective. I love shoes, I seriously am in love with Jeffery Campbell shoes and have a personal relationship with them; maybe I need professional help, and I often find myself lusting over a pair of shoes that I cannot afford and probably will not be able to afford for a few years.
Frankly, I find it pitiful. But a few months ago jokingly speaking with a friend, I caught myself saying, “I’m so tired of wanting these shoes. It drives me insane,” and that was it: inspiration.
An idea for a song popped into my head and I had it completely written in less than an hour. It seems to be about a relationship turning sour, but it really is about me trying to get over the fact that I could not purchase a pair of Kanye West’s DW shoes that I have unmistakably seen in Kim Kardashian’s closet on her infamous show, “Keeping Up With the Kardashians”! I named it “It Was All Good” and the hook goes something like:
“I’m so tired of this game, it drives me insane. I can’t stop it no-oh-oh ooh ooh oh-oh. Now you’re done with me, it’s funny to see, ‘cuz I was over you oou oo yesterday.”
That is another thing I have learned, nothing is ever as it seems to be. Inspiration itself, if it should be actual matter, is the most malleable substance in existence. It is meant to be molded into every possible dimension the human brain can imagine. No perspective should be left unexplored or undiscovered. Not even writing a song about a pair of shoes failing to hold its prospective weight in a human relationship.
Love, Brielle