Amid ramping tensions as federal immigration enforcement officers riled the Chicago area, a Lake County fashion student created an award-winning collection drawing from her family’s immigrant roots.
Allison Galvan’s quartet of outfits was featured at the Driehaus Fashion Awards earlier this month, where she won the “distinguished design award for retail,” which comes with a personalized mentorship with luxury department chain Neiman Marcus.
Although Galvan, who recently graduated from Dominican University, has lived her entire life in Round Lake Beach, she’s the child of two Mexican immigrants who came to America working “as any other immigrant experience,” she said.
Galvan and her older brother have both followed creative paths for their careers, ones that their parents may not always fully understand, but she said they’ve always been supportive. And over the years, they’ve gained an appreciation for how big the fashion world is, Galvan said.
“They saw me spend hours sewing or crocheting, making this collection; they have also gained that perspective of how much time and energy and passion that goes into creating,” she said.
The fashion collection was her graduating capstone project, entitled “Uprooted,” mixing nature themes with her own ruminations on the immigrant experience. Growing up, her family had always been open about their immigrant experience, and Galvan has “always been proud” of her connection to her culture.
The collection came about in a time of uncertainty and fear in the immigrant community, Galvan said, as federal immigration enforcement crackdowns wracked the region. And so came the collection’s core idea, “Uprooted,” playing both on her parents’ story of moving to a new country and the upheaval she was witnessing around her.
While the negative perspective some hold on her family’s experience is “scary,” she has “always believed that in art there’s a certain responsibility to be open about certain topics.”
“Art puts everything together, and connects people and tells a story,” Galvan said.
Galvan has been creating art in some form for years, but her first foray into fibers was with crochet in high school, a hobby picked up during the COVID pandemic. She only began delving into fashion and sewing while looking at colleges and learning about Dominican’s fashion program.
“I was instantly very interested,” she said. “Everything kind of fell into place”
She has grown up loving fashion, and recalled making outfit illustrations, so it was a “full-circle moment” when she realized she could pursue a fashion degree. Beyond building technical skills — like using a sewing machine — Galvan began expanding her perspective on the fashion world itself.
“Once you delve in deeper, you start to realize that it’s a much bigger world than just what you see on a runway or in a magazine. What I really respect and love is that it’s a whole community.”
Galvan’s collection was made during a difficult time, but she said she wanted it to be a “cathartic” creation, and it was important to be ultimately hopeful, she said.
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The outfits feature personal touches throughout, including an umbrella made of an intricate spiderweb of crocheted black fiber. Many of the fabrics used are in earthy tones, and she tried to imbue a sense of movement throughout, whether through flowing fabrics or the inclusion of handbags conveying the idea that the models were headed somewhere.
The final look is the most formal of the four: an all-black skirt and top with subtle floral patterning. The model has a silver crown mimicking sprouting branches, again playing on the collection’s theme.
Beyond the mentorship, Galvan’s win includes a $5,000 grand prize and her designs being put on display at a department store.
Going into the award show, she was “already over the moon” that she was even able to participate. The win left her “overwhelmed,” she said.
Now graduated, Galvan said she’s trying to get her foot in the door in the fashion world, building up her experience and credentials. Looking ahead, though, she dreams of getting into the entertainment industry, possibly working on costumes for films or music, or working alongside the big fashion houses.