Today we’d like to introduce you to Hannah Ferguson.
Hi Hannah, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
My name is Hannah Ferguson, and I would say my arrival to directing a Fashion Show me for my Senior Capstone Project is the best representation of the unconventional journey I took for education and career than most.
On November 12, 2022, the UNFILTERED Humanity Fashion Show finally happened after months of networking, organizing designers, and event details, and, yes, a few breakdowns, haha. Cincinnati Fitness Boxing Gym generously allowed us to use their venue to house around 150 guests to enjoy a night of combined arts, live music, and food and drink. Directing a team of people to put on a fashion show for our nonprofit, Weightless Anchor, was one of the hardest things I have ever done. But it was so worth it to see several facets of the arts including music, fine art, and fashion, successfully communicate a message of complexity and triumph found in the human condition. This message-built bridges between several different people groups, including the marginalized women our event was in support of. Weightless Anchor works hard to keep safe houses open that continue to help women overcome life in the sex trafficking industry.
As for my unconventional journey to arrive at this Fashion Show, I would say it consisted of three things. To make this concise: a love and ability for several different fine arts, a trip to London UK, and searching for truth in an Interdisciplinary education at university.
So first, my love and ability for art. I love to draw, paint, sew, and sing. Now you know why I had a multifaceted journey because I like too many things …! In high school I was fortunate enough to have an invested art teacher, who taught me textiles, charcoal drawing, acrylic painting, dark room photography, and much more. With this launchpad, I went on to study Fine Arts at University of Cincinnati’s DAAP program. After a rigorous marathon of studios and critiques, I decided this was not the path for me. For some, continuing college was a wonderful path, but for me, I knew I didn’t feel passionate about continuing to discover the arts, truth, and myself at college. I completed one year of Fine Arts School, and then I made the bold decision to stop college and grow somewhere else: that place turned out to be London, UK.
I researched several options before I landed on London: internships, apprenticeships, nonprofit mission trips, and more. I chose a missions base called YWAM London Radiant. I grew up in a home that believes in Jesus, and after much wrestling on my own time, Jesus stuck with me, and I couldn’t deny His tangible steps and loyalty to me in my life and those around me. London Radiant is a missions base that focuses on using the arts to communicate the things about Jesus that cannot be done in one conversation, but rather a lifestyle and a daily rhythm of creating and connecting, and learning. I had always imagined and brainstormed ideas where “lifestyle communities” would gather around the arts to flourish and grow and I found that at this base where I lived in Kings Cross, London for 3.5 months. As we did life together and explored our faiths in local city communities like Camden Town, Notting Hill, and Islington, we also worked on trades like pattern making for fashion, photography and drawing for Fine Art, and even culinary and baristas bringing their arts to culminate into an Arts Exhibition at the end of our internship. I chose their Fashion internship and produced a seven-piece show with my fellow intern and now friend, Natalia. These people were passionate about bringing together business, the arts, and community that made me feel so satisfied because I had dreamed of the same things to become tangible in my own life and my own city. Cincinnati.
Fast forward, I returned to Cincinnati with fleshed-out ideas of connecting several disciplines into a successful and profitable experience. I was in serious need of finding how I wanted to implement this myself in my own community. I decided to invest in my studies again and return to University of Cincinnati, this time with Marketing and business classes combined with Fashion Marketing classes from DAAP. I wanted to achieve the multifaceted picture I had before London and now more clear after London. Interdisciplinary is a recurring theme or trend in education right now because we live in a world that is rapidly evolving into one that is more and more deeply interconnected, which in turn results in world problems that require the critical thought and combination of multiple disciplines existing together. Not just one discipline and track you choose at the beginning of college right after high school. We are constantly learning. All of my education and time in London ultimately led up to my desire in taking a risk on directing a Fashion Show for my Senior Capstone project.
While I was finishing school, I got in contact with an organization held up at Ohio State University called UNCHAINED. Unchained is a student-led on-campus organization that also works to bring awareness for and help women out of sex trafficking. They held a fashion show in spring of 2022, which allowed me to make 5 pieces that represent the abuse side of in the journey of a woman overcoming the sex trafficking industry. Being a part of this fashion show as a designer really helped me to know to run one on my own. It also helped give me resources like learning about how to organize models and designers to other local nonprofits or organizations that are passionate about and support the same cause.
UNFILTERED Humanity Fashion Show.
To be honest, I was very glad that I had chosen an Interdisciplinary education because the requirements were very open and less structured. Basically, I was determined to run this fashion show in support of marginalized women, whether it fit the university guidelines for a capstone or not. Back in 2019, I had been preparing and saving for London. Meanwhile, I decided to volunteer at Weightless Anchor’s safe houses for women in the local Price Hill area of Cincinnati. The safe houses provide a safe place to find food and clothes and steps to recovery and local rehab facilities that continue to aid women into a life of capability, purpose, and freedom. LeeAnn Sanson, house director for Weightless Anchor, was one of my biggest cheerleaders excited for the potential of the UNFILTERED Fashion Show to return to and show off what Weightless Anchor is really about. DAAP had mannequins and connections to models and makeup artists and hair stylists, but the rest of the organizing and funding was up to me with the help of my friends and family. It was a risk I was ready and excited to take on. Thanks to all of the people in my life who have believed in and supported the crazy dreams I have.
I loved this night, November 12th, because all of the arts were connected to communicate deeper thoughts about the fragility of humanity found in us and the marginalized women we were supporting that otherwise would stay hidden. Weakness, hardship interconnected with a capacity for goodness, hope, and victory are messages that all need to be reminded of, especially in a world where people groups or so divided and void of the common ground we all share. Our lives revolve around the things that we create, and UNFILTERED Humanity Fashion Show provided UNFILTERED artistic expression and ideas to cut through social norms and preconceived beliefs that need to be broken down and made new again. If you want a thesis: The arts are the most direct way to communicate and reorganize raw thought than any other medium. It allows to discover the truth and realities that we could not see before.
That is why UNFILTERED Humanity Fashion show was and is so important to me because it represents the freedom that can come from rethinking our perceptions of the world and each other.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Outside of the Fashion Show, a struggle I had to work through was confidently choosing the path I wanted outside of the typical societal expectation of graduate, college, and then job. Exploration and learning is not cookie-cutter.
It was definitely bumpy haha. As all risks are. The first thing: do not direct and manage a fashion show of a 150 people without rallying a specific team behind you if you can. The marketing, logistics from food trucks to sizing charts for models were all things I did by myself.
In regard to organizing the fashion show, I learned a lot about how to lead people well. While networking, I learned so many practicals behind how to organize people well and most importantly how to communicate with them well. In some cases, it was as simple as deciding between a phone call being a more concise and encouraging method to get someone on board with your mission than a well-thought-out email. In other cases, an email with a marketing package was the better option. How to encourage, communicate to, and lead people I think were the biggest learning experiences I went through.
I learned a ton about the Cincinnati’s resources, creative community, and what I could pull from with a low college student budget…! Whether that be heaters brought in by the local Camp Washington area, local food trucks, or local Cincinnati designers, I didn’t know about before the show.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
WORK EXPERIENCE: For the last two years, I have worked in bridal at a boutique in Reading, Ohio’s Bridal district called Bochic Bridal Boutique. I love my job there. Owner of the boutique, Manal Shteiwi, has been a friend, mentor, and someone I deeply admire and am grateful for.
Her business is female-owned, while also coming from an immigrant family from Jordan in the Middle East. It has taught me a lot about what it takes to start my own business and organize and lead people.
At University of Cincinnati’s School of Design, Art, Architecture, and Planning, I used my degree in Fashion, Business, and Fine Art to bring disciplines together that need each other to exist, generate income, and invent new spaces and products that people enjoy.
While working in bridal, I have worked in textile and bridal alterations and pattern making through Adobe software.
MY WORK:
Currently, my main personal focuses are creating commission fine art drawings and paintings. I specialize in watercolor, acrylic, hand lettering, and charcoal pencil drawings. I also create and alter clothing for commission as well.
ASPIRING WORK:
As a recent graduate from UC’s DAAP Program, my passions are to explore costume design opportunities in Cincinnati’s theatre or movie production companies. I am also improving my skills at corset construction for dressmaking, which I have become passionate for from working in the bridal industry.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
I think it surprises people that I focused on so many different disciplines to get where I am today. My first love was Fine Art, but I have come to love incorporating my Fine Art designs and style into the textiles I use and the garment constructions I come up with while drafting patterns.
My travels in London gave me a love for streetwear that I want to focus on in my next projects. Some of these projects include street-style coats made from scratch to creative DIYs on formal wear and dresses.
Inspo: Rosie Assoulin’s new Bridal Collection adds a contemporary and traditional twist to bridal that is inspiring to my own formal wear experimentation.
Pricing:
- Alterations starting at: $70
- Custom Garment Construction starting at: $250
- Small Alterations: $25-$50
- Water Color/ Hand Lettering starting at: $40
- Fine Art Custom (watercolor or charcoal) starting at: $80
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/_hannahferg_?igshid=MDM4ZDc5MmU=
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100021595791934
- Other: https://issuu.com/fergusonhannah/docs/final_graphic_resume_2022screenview
Image Credits
Audrey Neal Photography
Daniel Rossi Photography
