Black and white photo of Evan standing behind a fallen tree outdoors.

Student

Evan Brewster Shares Pieces Of Himself In DEBUT Collection

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Evan Brewster has always felt connected to nature and art. “I fell in love with fashion because of how it connects people and how everyone can have their own style of expression with it. You can learn a lot about someone just by how they are dressed.” Evan applied to FIDM while still in high school at Chaminade College Preparatory in West Hills, California and completed his A.A. in Fashion Design at FIDM, after which he was accepted into the Advanced Fashion Design Program. The designer will be showing a very personal collection at FIDM’s Annual DEBUT Runway Show event, livestreaming on March 31, 2023, at 2:30 PM PT. “Tangible things that inspire me are other people’s art, such as paintings, music, movies, television shows, and architecture.” We checked in with Evan to learn more.

Tell us about your DEBUT collection. My DEBUT collection is inspired by a blend of streetwear and formal. I also have put little pieces of myself in the collection through a display of prints and wording that expresses my interests and philosophies on life. I want it to be a puzzle for people to understand me on a deeper level. I have pulled a lot of inspiration from movies, TV shows, and music.

What silhouettes and fabrics can we expect to see? My silhouettes include a variety of shapes. I will display classic suit pants and jeans, oversized suiting jackets, long coats, long dresses, and long A line skirts. My fabric choices will consist of mainly denim with a touch of wool suitings, houndstooth, cotton jersey, and French terry.

What is your point of view as a designer? With this collection and as a designer I want to express that life is something abstract and weird. I also want to use my designs to express who I am as a person and my beliefs on life. I don't want to explain too much because I want people to have their own point of view on my design language and think about what the motifs I present really mean.

How do you hope people will feel when they see your designs? When people see my designs I hope they feel some sort of emotional pull whether that be negative or positive. I would hope people like my designs and want to wear them, or at least appreciate its beauty. If they strongly hate my designs that’s fine. I have done my job as a designer to pull a strong emotion out of someone.

What inspires you as a creative and as a fashion designer? The ability to express one’s self through any art form drives me to create. Fashion is just the field I have found myself in. I hope to showcase myself through other art forms in the future, not just fashion. I am also heavily inspired by nature and the universe who are the ultimate masters of design.

What is a lesson you've learned as you've been working on your collection? At the beginning of the program I was very stressed by whether my collection was going to be good enough. But as time went by I learned to trust myself and believe in the designs I was making. This is only the beginning of my career so instead of being stressed of what my collection isn't, I learned to appreciate how far I have come as a designer and love what I am currently able to make and put out.

Tell us about your path to FIDM. Since I could remember I always cared about what I wore and loved putting together outfits. I loved skate streetwear and later my taste expanded to Japanese designers and streetwear. I loved the freedom of expression from the designers in Japan and their ability to put themselves into their designs. I was gifted an old sewing machine by my grandmother after wanting to customize my own clothing during my sophomore year of high school. Since then I have loved being able to alter or create my own designs. The same grandmother who gave me my machine told me about FIDM and encouraged me to pursue a designer career. After applying to regular universities across the US, I decided I wanted nothing to do with a normal school experience and wanted to build my creative and technical abilities in the fashion industry.

How is FIDM helping you get closer to your career goals? FIDM has built my patternmaking and sewing skills tremendously. I came to FIDM with zero experience making clothes from scratch and now am making a 10-12 look runway show collection. I still have a lot to learn but I have made a lot of progress.

Any advice for someone considering applying to be a DEBUT student? Managing your time is key and getting as much done as you can early is ideal. The time in this program flies by and as long as you put all your mental effort and work into it and love what you are making, the collection will be great.