Fashion student’s chess inspired collection

A final year Fashion student has created a highly original project based on the game of chess and its long multi-national history and place in our culture.

Diana Oancea, originally from Romania, was inspired by the queen pieces to create garments for intelligent and powerful women. Her project Check! was also inspired by haute couture and by chess – both the game and its representation in paintings and literature.

Her aim was to create a collection where the clothes can be used as a weapon of seduction and as an extension of our psyche when worn. The fabrics she used come from Paris and are a mix of natural and man-made materials.

Diana previously studied law in Romania and practiced as a barrister for five years in Bucharest, specialising in criminal law.

Diana said:

I can see a connection between how a lawyer has to be persuasive and how clothes contribute to a persuasive argument. Chess celebrates power and analytical imagination, and could be said to celebrate women whose seductive beauty is enhanced by their intellect and independence, just like the piece in the game.

Diana previously won the ‘A Suit That Fits’ design competition in January this year, creating a women’s suit made from a heritage check that is now sold on the A suit that fits website. She is also one of 27 finalists in the Midlands Fashion Designer Awards 2012 taking place in Birmingham in October.

Diana’s work will be on show on 7th June at the Hub, Jordan Well, Coventry as part of the Degree Show.