By Emily Jiang

Connie Cheng strives to blur the line between business and leisure, and sophistication and comfort. Her love for pattern development and construction brings her final graduation collection to light. One should not sacrifice comfort to look good, she says.

MAUD, Cheng’s graduate collection, showcases a capsule wardrobe of functional and sophisticated travel wear, specifically designed for “bleisure” travelers, who are a rising group of millennial travellers who incorporate leisurely activities with their business duties.

MAUD will be unveiled at 2018 The Show presented by Tamoda Apparel Inc., on April 19 and 20 at Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s (KPU) new purpose-built Wilson School of Design building. The beautiful and innovative $36-million building houses a range of design programs including the fashion-design-and-technology program. Thirty-one other lines by KPU fashion design and technology students will also be showcased.

For event details, visit kpu.ca/2018fashionshow or follow @wilsondesignkpu on Instagram.

Emily Jiang: Describe your collection.

Connie Cheng: MAUD offers a capsule wardrobe of functional, sophisticated travel wear for the modern bleisure traveller.

EJ: Who or what was the inspiration behind your line?

CC: I love to travel, but as a full-time student with a part-time job, I’m on a tight budget. I’m sure I’m not alone, so I was inspired to create a line of what and where I want to be in the future. From there, I took my dream and put it into my line: clothing for the emerging class of millennial professional women who pursue careers that require business travel and allows for some leisurely time in the same trip.

With globalization, the Internet, and telecommuting, the line between travel, business, and leisure will continue to blur. I see a growing need for women to have a wardrobe that works in multiple environments and social settings.

EJ: What made you want to become a designer?

CC: The first time I touched a sewing machine was in grade eight in my home-economics class in high school. It was a very simple discovery that I like to sew. And that curiosity led me to take textiles classes throughout high school. I continued to pursue this curiosity in university as well. The more I draft and the more I sew, the more I love this art all over again. I hope that, through sharing my passion as a designer, many people will discover the beauty of pattern making and construction.

EJ: Walk me through your creative process.

CC: My creative process usually starts with looking through drafting books. It’s a bit different from other designers. Drafting books and online images of unique pattern drafting techniques inspire me. When looking through books and photos, my mind starts to run and designs start to pop up. Unless I know how each pattern piece comes together, I will not know how to make it. Usually if I get stuck, I will go grab a drafting book and it will solve the problem.

EJ: What have you learned at KPU?

CC: The importance of friends and camaraderie. I do not think I would have been able to survive the past four years without the support of my classmates and my friends. We are in the same boat. They are people who will understand your pain and struggles, but also celebrate with you your successes and achievements. It is very hard to find a group of people who will fight alongside you and travel the same journey. They are irreplaceable and will continue to be people I will treasure my whole life.

EJ: What aspect of design are you most passionate about?

CC: My passion lies in production. I love seeing how pieces come together and the creativity behind pattern development. This is what fuels my designs and ignites my creative process: the process of figuring out how each pattern piece is made, how it's sewn together, what type of materials to use, etc.

The questions are endless and the process of finding solutions to each problem is what excites me and keeps me going. Sometimes, along the way, you can find new ways of doing things that can eventually develop into new design ideas.

Emily Jiang is a final-year fashion design and technology student at KPU’s Wilson School of Design.