Fashion is an expression, but to J’wan Morning fashion is “less than an expression and more an explanation personally”. He says, “A lot of people think fashion is an explanation to the outside world,” when it is more of an explanation to yourself.
Does fashion show your moods or how you’re feeling about yourself?
In my personal life, I let fashion decide my mood. I kind of let it tell me how I’m going to feel, that’s why I prefer to dress a certain way—look a certain way—so I know where to keep my attitude—where to keep my spirit—I like to follow my fashion.
If I think the day is going to be harder than it should, I dress my best to kind of counteract that and follow that lead.
So, does fashion define you as a designer overall?
It plays a huge role in my whole life. But truthfully I think of myself as an artist first, writer second, and a designer third. Fashion is my whole life… it probably affects everything, but I’m no longer looking at it. I’m not trying to make it affect it,… and it’s been in my life for such a long time now that it’s second nature. I’m not looking at it, but I know it’s there.
What is your aesthetic?
It’s definitely glamour, definitely bridal inspired. Couture. Bright colors. Grand silhouettes.
Follow up question, what category do you consider your work?
When I designed my senior collection [in Savannah College of Art and Design], I really wanted to shy away—even though I ended up calling it that—from calling it couture, runway, or red carpet just because I know I would wear those clothes every day in my personal life. So I guess it is kind of a goal of mine to connect grand clothes with everyday ready-to-wear.
What inspired you to be glamorous?
Truthfully, I think the most [important] take away from the way I dress and the way I design is that I don’t think of fashion necessarily as an aesthetic point of view or a visual point of view. Fashion, at the end of the day, and the clothes that we wear [are] about how we feel. As a world, we all kind of know this idea that on our special occasion days we wear our best dress and we feel our best. [But] if we can feel like this on one day, why not [every day]? That is why I dress up every day because why lose that feeling if all you need is clothes to recreate it.
What, exactly, is your latest project?
My latest project, entitled “Notes on Fashion”, is an editorial spread in a fashion film inspired by the original poem “Notes on Fashion”.
What should people expect from it?
I presented this project to throw people off of what they’d expect. I presented my cover art before the actual project, and I’m not sure how many people looked into it, but I think at a glance the title “Notes on Fashion” makes someone think that this project is about something that just has to do with clothes. But I want it to be somewhat of a shock to actually give these clothes a deeper meaning. I did what I did so people would leave with a message [at the end of their viewing].
This project premiered Saturday, September 25, 2020, via Instagram.