Anna Doyle is making her mark in The Big Apple
“This task is huge, considering we all spend half of our semester dedicating our lives to these garments in hopes of being selected for our exhibition; 300 garments gets whittled down to 50 designs on display.”
Cliff Yankovich || Contributing Writer
4/23/2024
It should come as no surprise, to anyone who watched and listened to Anna Doyle sing and act during her four years at LHS, to learn that she is continuing her education in the Big Apple. Anna is the daughter of Stephen and Michelle Doyle and she graduated in 2022. What might be a surprise for those who enjoyed her singing and acting in Freaky Friday, Sister Act, and finally as Dorothy in Mary Poppins, is that Anna is a student at the Fashion Institute of America (FIT). She is spending her time preparing for a career in fashion as a Technical Designer.
Anna must be on the proper track because she just received a Critic Award and one of her creations was featured front and center in a recent show at FIT. The project was mandatory for all 300 students in Anna’s class. “In our fourth semester at FIT, the Fashion Design students are all given a theme and parameters with which we must design our capstone garment; this year it was Denim Divine,” Doyle stated. “This task is huge, considering we all spend half of our semester dedicating our lives to these garments in hopes of being selected for our exhibition; 300 garments gets whittled down to 50 designs on display.”
Not only did Anna’s piece make the cut to be displayed, she also received one of ten Critic Awards for it. The student body is divided into ten groups and each of the groups had an experienced person from the fashion industry examining their work, from design to completion. Menswear designer, David Hart, a 2004 FIT grad himself, was the critic assigned to Anna’s group. Her work impressed Hart enough to get the nod, but she was thrilled when she walked into the show and found her work received the extra recognition of securing premier placement for the exhibition, which is open from April 3rd to the 23rd.
“To even be considered for this award is an honor, and I am filled with gratitude,” Doyle explained. “The Fashion Design Department curates the exhibition to their exact taste, and my design was displayed as the centerpiece and opening of the Denim Divine Gallery. Which, again, is a privilege that I cannot accurately express with words.”
Anna will earn her associates degree in Fashion Design this spring and she plans to continue her education and pursue a Technical Design degree. She took the time to explain more about technical design and how important it is for the proper fit of a line of clothing. If you are like this reporter, you may have found one or more brands of clothing that fit you better than others, even if all the labels list the same size information. Doyle said that is where technical design comes in. “It is all about the fit,” she said. “It is no longer about the pattern or the fabric. All brands have a technical designer, some are better than others.”
Lest you start to think all this design stuff is pie in the sky, one of the motivators for choosing a technical design path for Anna is the very pinnacle of practicality. “FIT has a one hundred percent job placement for technical designers,” Doyle concluded.
For Anna and her fellow students at FIT, learning how to work within the fashion industry is learning a trade. It is a regimen of training that combines the artistic “fun and creative” part of design with the real work-practicality of putting that fun to work in order to make a living. Part of her training at FIT included required internships for each of the semesters of study. Doyle recognizes the volatility of the fashion industry and was hesitant to predict where she might be in a decade. Her list of preferred design-house employers, “goes on for miles,” and she is eager to combine her artistry and practicality and work with a successful team.
“Whether it is performing arts, visual art, or fashion design and construction, art has always been an essential part of me that I do not foresee disappearing from my future,” Anna said. “I like to describe my design style as ‘dilapidated tailoring’. I take classic menswear and womenswear pieces and twist and distort them into new creations. Clothing is a vital part of self expression. My intention is for anyone to wear my designs, as long as they love how they feel in it.”
When the theme Denim Divine was announced, Doyle’s mind went in two directions. She first thought of denim as a “Canadian tuxedo,” and then to cover the divine aspect, she reached back to her school days at St. Patrick’s and she incorporated the sacrament of matrimony in her creation: The Canadian Tuxedo’s Bride.
“My garment features the essence of the classic denim button-down shirt and jeans - or something of that sort,” Doyle related. “I have a great appreciation for the craftsmanship of denim and tailored garments, in general, so while the skirt is comically large, I was careful to include all the qualities of a men’s dress shirt: the forward shoulder seam, the back yoke and pleat, french cuffs, buttons on the right, etc. The piece in its entirety also features the classic gold-contrast stitching, jean buttons, rivets, distressing, and so many more details that you would find on a pair of old jeans in your closet.”
When designing, Anna considers, not just separate garments, but the look as a whole. Her ensemble includes accessories that were dyed using the cyanotype dye process. The tie was dyed with the lyric, “I’ve got a mirror, so I’ll never be lonely,” by her favorite band called WHY?. “This lyric was in my mind the moment I started conceptualizing, and at first, I was not sure how I would incorporate it, but by the end, I knew the tie was the perfect place for it,”. Anna stated.
She continued, “At the end of the day, no one will ever know you the way you intrinsically know yourself. This is a stand-alone piece; there is no groom because the groom was never an integral part of its creation. I want this garment to represent that you can come as you are, whether it is seemingly deconstructed, unusual, or defies the norm, as long as you promise to value what you can offer, for better or for worse.”
Anna is very grateful for her “amazing support system,” in the form of her parents, friends, and family. She admitted that being a girl alone in New York City, navigating early adulthood, can be a bit challenging, but declared, “I’ve got a mirror, so I’ll never be lonely.”
For the most part, living in NYC is enjoyable for Anna. She did admit to missing nature sometimes and she made a joke about none of her friends in the City having a clue about “up north” means to someone from Michigan. Doyle considers herself an introvert and the anonymity that comes with living in a crowded city suits her just fine.
“During my first semester at FIT, the moment I am living in right now seemed impossible,” Anna stated. “The world is so much larger than us, and as long as you know your worth and are willing to put in the work, you can achieve anything that floats through your mind. And maybe... just maybe, it will come in the form of a giant jirt.”
You can keep tabs on Anna by following her Instagram: @annaedoyle
