Freed — Niamh Davies

Freed - Genderless Clothing

For my university Final Major Project, I created 'Freed'. Freed is a genderless clothing brand built with the intention to help break down remaining gender stereotypes that exist in the fashion industry today. The purpose of Freed is to provide a safe and accepting space in the fashion community where people can feel they can truly express themselves without fear of judgement.

I understand that anyone can wear anything that they choose and that technically all clothing can be genderless if you want it to be; however, most shops do have a men’s and a women’s section. I believe that creating a brand where I remove the labels and categories all together, will solve a problem for those who are afraid to explore fashion outside of their expected category.

Initial Concept Board & Trend Boards

Below you can find the initial concept board for Freed, which demonstrates the aesthetic that I was going for. As well as 10 trend boards that I put together which inspired the prints that I designed for the brand.

Freed Prints & Patterns

I designed 200 prints for Freed’s clothing collection. I began the print design process by experimenting on paper with materials such as inks, watercolours, pastels and paints; I love the control I have when designing by hand first. I then brought these over to my laptop and began digitally enhancing them on Photoshop, creating seamless repeat patterns. As you may be able to see from the small selection of prints below, I often include paint strokes and textures within my work. This is another reason why I love designing by hand first. When I scan in the elements that I have drawn/painted, I still get the original textures on to my laptop screen and I think that this makes my work feel more personal and unique to me. I love how nobody else has this exact mark making.

I enjoyed the challenge of designing prints for a genderless collection. It was important to me to get the message across that anyone can wear whatever they want. I didn’t want to create ‘girl prints’ and ‘boy prints,’ I just wanted to design a series of prints that could be worn by anyone, if they wanted too. However, to keep the collection more open and appealing to a large variety of people, I often opted for neutral shades such as creams. beiges and browns.

Below you can find some of the prints I designed for my genderless clothing brand, Freed.