――What was the reason you decided to take MA in fashion design?
Torishéju : To learn more about myself and craft.
―― Did you feel limited doing your final collection during the lockdown?
Torishéju : Yes, at times but I believe limitations are always needed when creating. It gives the designer/artist more space, (ironically) to think outside the box.
――How do you think doing a MA course during the pandemic prepared you for the industry? Do you think your creation process changed throughout?
Torishéju : There’s only so much you can prepare for in life and not everything goes to plan. But it’s how you adapt to these sudden changes that really define you. Not my creation process, only my thought process.
――Can you briefly describe your graduate collection.
Torishéju : The collection is called “CHIMERA”
The images of body horror in art and cinema that inspired this collection depict the ultimate loss of control. Forms break free of the body, creating new and unwanted shapes and selves; disorder emerges from order. Torishéju always begins with aspects of the conventional male silhouette. They give the viewer a reassuring sense of something human which she then disturbs with areas of concentrated distortion. With these jutting and twisting new forms, Torishéju’s goal is to engineer chaos in the heart of the familiar.
―― Do you think your emotions play a part in your final collection?
Torishéju : Yes, what is art without emotion?
―― What do body shapes mean to you?
Torishéju : Everything.
――In your graduate collection, what did you want to show the most?
Torishéju : I wanted to tell a story rather than show a collection. I guess I ended up showing and telling both.
――What do you think about the British Fashion scene, and the role of Central Saint Martins in that industry.
Torishéju : I don’t think the organisation has a role in the fashion industry but the students. I think it’s just started to get a lot more interesting.
――Sustainability has been a big theme in the fashion industry. As the second most polluting industry, what do you think the fashion industry can do?
Torishéju : I am not a spokesperson for the fashion industry, I just feel that the people working in the fashion industry should be more conscious, transparent and thoughtful. But it doesn’t stop there.
――What brands or artists are you interested in at the moment?
Torishéju : My partner got me really into this band Cibo Matto and I can’t stop listening to them, they’re crazy good.
――What are your plans, what do you want to do after graduation?
Torishéju : Plans. Ahaaaaa, if 2020 taught us anything, it would be that things don’t go to plan. But I do have my first exhibition with Sarabande Foundation next month（As of April 2021）, showcasing the collection “CHIMERA” and it will be opened to the public. So come.
https://sarabandefoundation.org/blogs/whats-on/chimera-the-exhibition-torisheju
photography Liam Leslie
music Grizzle
text Maya Lee
Torishéju Dumi
https://www.instagram.com/toshiju/
https://sarabandefoundation.org/blogs/whats-on/chimera-the-exhibition-torisheju
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