How One Designer Is Using Animation Programs for High Fashion and PPE

During COVID-19, fashion has gone even more digital. Amid social distancing, there have been campaigns photographed remotely while fashion shows have been composed completely of avatars such as Animal Crossing. And of course, there has been a surge of digital creations on Instagram. One feed that has caught my own eye recently has been Edwin Mohney’s shimmying, grooving, and strutting avatars. The Central Saint Martins graduate has been known for his artful sourcing of thrift store materials and surplus fabrics, which he uses to create the likes of over-the-top designs with exaggerated proportions. (Think: larger-than-life confection gowns and evening dresses with a high-waisted pannier.) Now, Mohney has been funneling those silhouette-warping thoughts into the computer.

So far, Mohney has created several Sim-like avatars on the program Adobe Fuse, which is currently in a beta testing version. Each avatar sequence boasts a quippy name, such as “Stop Waiting!!!!”, and fulfills an action that corresponds with the title. “It is like an emotional reaction. it is just a vibe,” says Mohney. For “Stop Waiting!!!!”, the avatar is dressed in a black and white harlequin print jumpsuit and sprints across the screen to the tune of actor Shia Lebouf’s inspirational speech “Just Do It.” Another, titled “Witch Pimp,” is an avatar with a J.Lo style floppy hat in a tangerine-hued skirt suit complete with a tactile vest, all of which is accessorized with a saucy strut and the music of “Human Nature” by Madonna. “It’s a pocket of emotion. Like, ‘Let’s do something silly and strange and put this music to it.’” says Mohney. “It’s this work unto itself and I have fun doing them.”

Of course, there are restrictions when using the program: The outfits are already pre-loaded into Adobe Fuse as relatively standard pieces. It is up to Mohney to customize them and play with the avatar’s body’s form to alter the pieces. “You’re designing the body underneath it so it is tinkering with the shape,” he says. “It is like an archetype of stuff like a blazer with a jacket. It’s like, ‘How do I fuck this up?” Here, Mohney can transform denim shorts into pin and green python print shorts by tinkering with the textures, fabrics, and colors. As for the silhouette, Mohney cinches waists and expands hips, hunching shoulders for an aristocratic hunch. In the end, the restrictions don’t really feel like restrictions. “The constraints are the fun of it,” says Mohney. “It is kind of a task of how different I can make these looks given the box to work within.”

Experimenting in a more digital-focused sphere has trickled into another facet of Mohney’s career that has remained mostly underwraps up until now, which is his work with medical garb. Mohney has been revamping the PPE designs for his grandmother’s medical supply company, Alunt since he was 18 and more permanently since 2018. Based in Mohney’s hometown of Buffalo, New York and founded in 1975, Alunt is responsible for manufacturing PPE, including hospital gowns for frontline workers and newborns. They also work directly with medical personnel to create customized pieces. Currently based in Los Angeles, social distancing has made it impossible for Mohney to travel back to Buffalo to assist with gown redesigns so he has been working on it remotely, drafting prototypes on the fashion design program CLO.

Modeled on an avatar—with killer cheekbones, too—he has made several designs that have helped make hospital gowns easier to wear, which comes in handy during the time of COVID-19 when full-coverage is necessary. “We want to make sure there is as little fuss as possible,” says Mohney of the reworked designs. There are thumb loops to keep the sleeve attached to the wearer’s hand and so that rubber gloves can be pulled over the cuff. Another addition? While most hospital gowns open up in the back and expose the wearer, Mohney’s has layered the gown with an extra piece of material that secures from the shoulder to the back so it doesn’t open up unnecessarily. The wearer can customize the layer of fabric so that they can wear it over the head, shoulder, or waist. For Mohney, the experience has been rewarding, and, yes, another way to think out of the box. “I’ve never spoken about [PPE design] since it’s always been separate from ‘fashion,’” says Mohney. “But the transition to focusing on PPE apparel seemed like the best way for me to be a part of some kind of solution in the smallest of ways.”