CFDA 2024:
Flowers in My Childhood
Flowers in My Childhood unfolds like memory itself, quietly layered, fragile yet resilient. Garments fold like paper, then blossom into sculptural blooms, echoing the gardens of a childhood home. Each piece, cut from discarded fabrics, carries both the tenderness of remembrance and the urgency of renewal. It is a ritual of transformation: from scrap to flower, from past to present, from intimacy to collective vision.
Flowers in My Childhood is a dedication to my mother. The Chinese character “花” (Hua), meaning flower, is also part of her name. In the garden of my childhood home, blossoms opened with each season, carrying the tenderness of her presence. From those petals of remembrance grows this collection, shaped by the phrase “祝君如花”:
May you bloom like flowers
— a blessing, an offering, and a love that continues to unfold.
The collection gathers its spirit from the quiet nostalgia of 1990s Chinese interiors and the delicate playfulness of paper-folding flower toys. Petals once made of paper are reimagined as garments, resting in stillness when folded, yet unfurling into sculptural blooms when released. During my research, this vision unexpectedly resonated with a 1972 New York Times advertisement for a foldable travel suit bag, an object that collapses into compactness yet expands into purpose. From this intersection of memory and utility emerged the heart of the project: clothing that carries itself as a flower does, able to fold, to bloom, to transform.
Look 1: Size 4-12
Straight Inclusive Size
This look is unisize, fitting a range from size 4 to 12.
A unisize look that folds and blooms with the body from size 4 to 12. The jacket and trousers shift between compactness and expansion, their folds unfolding like petals. Made with 80% recycled scraps, lace, curtains, tablecloths; each piece carries a past, reborn through screen printing, spray painting, and patch working into something personal and new.
Look 2: Size 10-22
Inclusive Plus Size
This look is unisize, fitting a range from size 10 to 22.
A unisex look that folds and blooms across sizes 10–22 (and can accommodate straight sizes as well). The pea coat transforms from flower to bag to hat, its hidden webs releasing space and volume. The blue dress, born from leftover scraps, is pieced like paper petals, a garment that shifts between sculptural form and inclusive fit.
Where fabric becomes flower,
and memory becomes form.
Each fold hides a story, each bloom releases a blessing,
weaving together heritage, intimacy, and the promise of renewal.
Photoshoot Credits:
Designer: Effe Qi HE @effewaldorf
Collection: Flowers in My Childhood - Parsons MFA Design Studio 2 @parsons_mfafds
Professors: @beck__a @fionadieffenbacher
Models: @dahliagonzalez_
Photography: Tiger Ziran ZHOU @tiger.z_ @tigerzrzhou
Makeup Artist: @vanessalistyle
Assistants: @ziyiart2022 @jackson_feng_
Copyright Notice:
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Copyright Notice: *
All works in this portfolio (including text, images, and designs) are original creations and protected by copyright law. Reproduction, distribution, or commercial use without prior written permission is strictly prohibited.
For reposting or media coverage, please contact designer Effe. Any plagiarism, misappropriation, or infringement will be legally pursued.