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Local fashionistas are advised to keep the Dorothea label on their radar.
Colorful, kinetic womenswear label Janelle Arnold, recipient of a 2016 scholarship from the Scanner Foundation, is currently designing new pieces for two West Coast runways: Portland Fashion Week and San Diego Fashion Week.
“I’d say my design aesthetic in general is very bold and bright and colorful,” says Arnold. The scanner. “I love working with color, making things that are very vibrant and stand out; I think it brings joy and happiness to people when they wear them. That’s always been very important to me – I want the people I’m designing to love the pieces I create.”
Arnold is a recent graduate of Marist College in New York, where she studied the fine art of “taking a design from concept to finished garment” and using top-of-the-line maker’s lab tools like laser cutters. To make her collection of controlled explosions a reality.
“One of my inspirations was fireworks.
“Because I love color and I thought about how fireworks explode in the night sky, that tied into the laser cutter,” Arnold said. It was laser cut so it was controlled so it was still very precise to cut the fabric.”
Difference in design
The Covid pandemic cut Arnold’s senior year in New York short, so she returned to Portland to finish her year away. But as Dorothea’s brand shows, Arnold’s inspiration often comes from home.
“It’s a meaningful name to me because it’s one of my middle names and it’s been passed down through generations of girls on both my father’s and my mother’s side,” Arnold said. “My paternal great-grandmother was from Mobile, Ala. Her maiden name was Dorothea, my mother has a middle name of Dorothea, and so did her grandmother, which is why I was given the same name. It definitely represents a lot of people in my life and the women who have influenced me over the years,” Arnold said.
Arnold remembers drawing dress patterns when she was in grade school, and her mother taught her how to sew by hand at a young age. During her junior year at Grant High, Arnold created a niche for herself and other students interested in the fashion industry.
“I started a fashion club for myself and interested people to come together,” she said. “And I did a lot of networking and talking to local people in the industry, asking local designers to come in and talk to us, like makeup artists and stylists. It was an opportunity for people to learn about different aspects of the industry if they were interested in that.”
Arnold became adept at finding ways to express and develop her own creativity. But she admits that while the fashion industry is finally – slowly – coming to embrace diversity, it’s not a field where black designers are well-represented. Labor statistics show that less than 8 percent of fashion designers are black.
“There were only three of us in the graduating class,” Arnold said.
Sketch from Janelle Arnold’s Controlled Explosive Accumulation (2020). (Photo courtesy of Jenelle Arnold)“Even in our faculty, there was not much (representation). I always want to follow and support people of color.
Black designer Christopher John Rogers, who created the outfit worn by Vice President Kamala Harris on Inauguration Day, was inspired by the bold colors and often theatrics. Brave, often reminiscing about fellow Marist alum Marissa Wilson. and designer Christian Seriano’s initial presentation.
“At first I always loved how he was one of those rare designers who dressed plus-size celebrities, models,” Arnold said. “Your size doesn’t matter to him, he looks amazing on the red carpet.”
Arnold’s work shows a similar passion for variation in scale and model.
“Diversity and inclusion have always been very important to me, so I’m thrilled to be doing a size-inclusive collection at the Portland show,” said Arnold.
“I’m excited to be able to work with women of all different body types, showing that anyone who wants it can have a passion for fashion.
We need to think the same way as designers, and not just design for a certain size, but be more inclusive.
“Having a lot of representation and showing that through my brand and making it part of my core brand values has always been something I’ve been passionate about.”
Preparation for the runway
Arnold’s design portfolio features inspirations ranging from African queens to Bauhaus architecture to the Pacific Northwest.
“I’m usually very naturally motivated and I think growing up in this environment had some influence on that,” Arnold said. “Even in my textile designs, I often do things that are natural and flower-inspired, and I also personally love the natural colors that grow in flowers and I like those colors to be transferred into my designs.
In preparation for her next shows, Arnold has been busy creating 20 unique pieces for the runway.
“Both are completely new collections,” she said. “Since it’s my first collection at a fashion show and fashion week, I want the Portland collection to basically be a celebration of the diversity and inclusion that the brand represents, and also just bring out the identity of my brand. Colorful and vibrant and fun overall.
She added, “I’m very much a summer designer, I would say.
“I do a lot of summer dresses and things that are very fluid and have a lot of movement.”
To view Arnold’s work, visit www.dorotheaa.com. Portland Fashion Week runs from August 16th to 22nd. For more information, visit www.portlandfashionweek.net.
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