The Pioneers for Isabelle Gougenheim | Senior Capstone CFT Collaboration

For my senior capstone, I served as Design & Product Development Consultant on a year-long collaboration with artist Isabelle Gougenheim—whose bold, graffiti-inspired artwork is sold in luxury museum boutiques like the MCA and the Art Institute of Chicago. Our cross-functional team of design and merchandising students was tasked with translating her distinctive visual language into a market-ready capsule that could sit alongside her best-selling silk scarves.
 

Designing for Gougenheim’s elevated customer—whom we identified as the “entrepreneurial artist”—challenged me to think beyond my usual cute-focused lens. I led the creation of a digitally printed shirtdress that honored her expressive art through refined fabrication and surface embellishment. We sourced silk charmeuse locally to align with the brand’s luxury positioning, and I led the full garment development process—from silhouette design and technical sketching to pattern corrections, embroidery design, and final tech pack creation.
 

While the final garment was ultimately not selected for production, this project was a defining leadership experience. I advocated for my design vision through every round of critique, gained hands-on expertise in fit and construction, and built cross-functional communication skills by collaborating with a diverse team of personalities and perspectives. This experience deepened my ability to balance artistic integrity with real-world product development.