Carina Marcogliese

Behind the Mirror is a womenswear collection that combines darkwear fashion and sustainability.

This collection is inspired by The 4 Major Jungian Archetypes, coined in 1947 by Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Dr. Carl Jung. These archetypes are The Shadow, The Persona, The Anima/Animus, and The Self. The Shadow represents our creative and destructive energies. It is considered the dark side of our psyche where all our repressed ideas and emotions lie. The Persona, also known as conformity, is the face we show the world, known commonly as our many social “masks”. The Anima represents the subconscious feminine attributes and qualities in the male psyche. At the same time, The Animus is the subconscious masculine attributes in the female psyche. Finally, The Self symbolizes the unification of our conscious and unconscious minds. It is more commonly known today as self-actualization.

These archetypes have been re-imagined creatively and fused with silhouettes of alternative fashion aesthetics such as Dark Academia, Nu Goth, and Witchcore. All garments have utilized high-quality upcycled, recycled, and organic materials in their construction to further solidify my passion and support for sustainable fashion.

In all honesty, it feels like the first day of first year was just yesterday, and I can’t believe how fast time has flown by. I was a starry-eyed freshman who had a passion for design but lacked knowledge. While my design aesthetic and abilities roughly formed over the years, it wasn’t until near the end of my third year that I had a better grasp of construction and realized what I loved to design: darkwear fashion. In hindsight, this was obvious, but I didn’t quite have that “aha” moment until recently!

My time at the School of Fashion has been a memorable one. I’ve learned many invaluable things, from sewing techniques to working with 3D design modelling software. I hope to gain an even more incredible wealth of knowledge and skills in whichever field I find myself in, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds!