Chomped is inspired by albino alligators and swamps - symbols of home I didn’t fully appreciate until after I left. Albino alligators, with their paradoxical existences as decorated predators who can’t survive without specialized care, live in an environment that actively harms them - sensitive to sunlight, lacking camouflage, and prone to dehydration. This collection explores the bittersweet nature of living in a space where, despite all efforts, one can’t fully adapt or belong. It represents the tension of a creature deteriorating within an environment it was meant to flourish in - a feeling of being out of place, even in the environment “meant” for you. That bittersweet homesickness and nostalgia become the emotional core of this work
Through the materiality, silhouettes, and manipulations of these looks, gators and their swampy environment are heavily referenced - though purposely not in ways completely obvious. Through this collection, I wanted to create something thoughtful, compelling, and glamourous from a source often seen as eerie or threatening.
