BACKGROUND

Hannah Soukup grew up in rural West Virginia and completed her BFA in Apparel Design at the Rhode Island School of Design, graduating with honors in 2013. She has worked as a designer for Thom Browne, Chado Ralph Rucci and Iris van Herpen, and as a freelance designer in textile research, development, and design, honing her depth of exploration of technique and craftsmanship in Haute Couture and broad technical skills. She is a 2023 CRNY Artist, 2022 NYFA Grant Recipient, CFDA approved recipient and she has shown her work as a finalist for The Supima Design Competition at Lincoln Center, New York Mercedes Benz Fashion Week and the International 3D Print Show in Paris and New York.

WORK

I bring a multidimensional approach to textiles and fashion combining traditional and unconventional techniques using innovative materials and technologies to transform ephemeral emotions into vulnerable and empowering wearable experiences.

My work is deeply based in mental (un)health. I am endlessly fascinated with the brain; observing the intimate chaos of my mind and trying to untangle the intricacies that I trap and hide myself within. Constant themes are whirling thoughts, obsessions, hurt, evolution, contradictions and overthinking. I work through this inner jungle of overcomplication using a breadth of artistic disciplines to create a physical language of the mental tangle that is so difficult to verbalize

I explore these concepts through my interdisciplinary practice creating textiles, garments and performance pieces that are visualizations of specific components of my thoughts. My process is rooted in material research and experimentation, evolving through draping and sculpting on the body to building a library of materially-collaborative tools that inspire new possibilities. I often employ very tedious techniques where I can immerse myself in a meditative work process that takes me away from my mind. The ultimate goal is simplicity but to get there is most often through extreme complexity..