Kerriann is a second-year MS SDM student whose research topic has been her sustainable bridal wear line, KerriAlise. This luxury retail line features women of colour and different ethnicities, defying conventional beauty standards, and uses responsibly sourced fabric, appliqués and hand embroidery.

To aid microfibre pollution, Kerriann utilizes the least amount of product and ensures she uses as many sustainable and biodegradable fabrics as possible. Bridal gowns require a great deal of fabric and embroidery – rarely do people stop to think about how much fiber gets released into the ecosystem when these opulent garments are cleaned.

Kerriann’s process is from sketch to artisan for fabric, then hand embroider sourcing to sample. In her studio class at Parsons, she’s working on a database connecting fabric and embroidery artisans to designers, so that the least amount of non-biodegradable fabric and microfiber is used.