User:Iaguilar42/sandbox

By Ilma Aguilar

Sarah Hambly

Sarah Hambly is a digital creator, photographer, and self-taught fashion designer. She creates inspirational and educational content to show, in detail, the process of her sewing creations. The content she produces shows off her sewing projects that take inspiration from media, geek culture, fantasy, nature, art, and fashion collections. Her well-known designs are corsets, gowns, recreations, upcycles, geek couture, and costumes. She views fashion as art and does challenges to push her skill sets to stay creative.

Early life and education

Hambly was born and raised in the small town of Novato in Marin County, California. When she was sixteen, she picked up her first camera and began photographing her community's style, fashion, art, and culture. She then explored other branches of art, music, and fashion design.

She studied at Mount Saint Mary's University (2011-2012) to get her bachelor’s degree in film. That same year, she studied at the Academy of Art University (2017) and got her B.F.A. in photography. Currently, she is studying at Harvard Extension School (2021) to get her MA in media and communication.

Career

Her interest in fashion spiked “when she used to compete heavily on the rodeo circuit”, with her designing an outfit for the world champion barrel racer in 2014. Her career in design began after the passing of her father, as a way to process her grief. From there she began learning how to sew from her mother and entered Sewing Companions. She competed in the Her Universe Fashion Show at San Diego Comic-Con from 2016 to 2019. She won the audience award (2019) and the chance (together with the other winner) to design a collection for Her Universe and Hottopic in 2020.

That same year her online presence grew as a fashion influencer, designer, and artist for her captivating, dramatic designs, with a leading interest in the theme of “geek couture”, “a niche fashion corner of couture and pop culture”. She created elaborate gowns, corsets, and costumes that she photographs and records the process. “Her goals are to teach others how to sew and create, to build a more sustainable fashion world, and to inspire those to follow their passions in costuming, fashion design, and cosplay” . The following year. she opened her online store Official Hambley and participates in fashion shows once a year

Accomplishment

• 2016 - She was one of the finalists for the Her Universe Fashion Show at San Diego Comic-Con. The design was titled “Hannibal’s Design”- inspired by Hannibal.“From there she combined her love of pop culture and design to create unique couture clothing”.
• 2019 - She won the Audience Award” for her design “Bodak Green”-inspired by Marvel’s Loki.
• 2020 - She and the other winning contestant, judge winner Adria Renee, created the clothing collection designs based on the movie “Wonder Woman 1984” for Her Universe and Hottopic.
• 2020 - Her online career grew as a fashion influencer, designer, and artist, with content that shares her unique designs and processes from her home in Lake Tahoe, Nevada.
• 2021 - She opened her online brand store, Official Hambley, which caters to the theme of fantasy and fashion. The brand sells unique prints, embroidery work, corsets, and dresses that fit all bodies and genders.
• 2023 - Participated in the charity Reno fashion show during “the month of Art Town” in northern Nevada in July, posting her process on her YouTube channel and other platforms.

Geek Couture

Geek couture is a hybrid between fashion and elements of cosplay. It's a type of fashion that takes inspiration from pop culture and makes it into everyday ready-to-wear/ wearable outfits with elements of couture designs. “An elaborate type of fashion based on fandom characters or elements of pop culture”.  It is geek fashion inspired by favorite properties and it encourages self-expression. The couture aspect of “geek couture” is to bring out the unique and artistic side of design that makes it not a costume, but helps influence ideas of combining geek culture and high fashion. “The designer doesn’t copy the character’s outfit, but rather incorporates details about the character and movie or show into a garment” . “Pop culture and fashion share a symbiotic relationship, each drawing inspiration from the other in an endless loop of creative influence”. “With the advent of the internet and social media, pop culture's influence on fashion has become even more direct and immediate”. It creates a “dynamic, evolving tapestry of style and expression”. It is also a way to give homage to the fandoms.