Pause & Mend” by Erin Sara Joji
B.Sc. in Fashion and Apparel Design 2022
We live in a world that celebrates perfection, where everyone’s obsessed with being flawless. Erin Sara Joji’s graduation collection, “Pause & Mend,” dares to break boundaries. Inspired by Kintsugi, the ancient Japanese art of repairing shattered pottery with gold, the collection is a brave reflection on resilience, repair, and emotional growth.
“Pause & Mend” converts failure into beauty, 12 looks across menswear, womenswear, and even 2 petwear. Classic Japanese shapes, the kimono, get revived as layered, tiered silhouettes that convey fragility and strength in equal proportion. Hand-stitched crack pattern motifs and pleating treat every piece as a narrative of fissure and repair. French knots, bullion stitch, and textural motifs are used to evoke difficult emotions.
The white, gold, green, and blue colour scheme is soothing and symbolic. Creating gold cracks into the embroidery, it represents nature’s gentler touch to recovery. Organza, silk satins, soft rayons, blended nylons, and metallic yarns come together to create rich, opulent textures, highlighting Erin’s focus on bold fabric play and innovative design.
“Pause & Mend” is not about attire. It is about transformation. It reminds us to stop, take ownership of our wounds, and wear them on our sleeves—stitched in gold, laced in compassion.