I first met Harrison Koiwai during my last year of college. He was a sophomore beginning a transition into the Textiles and Apparel Department; always intrigued by his effortless style, I approached him about writing a feature earlier in January.

Over these few weeks, I’ve read multiple articles about his senior collection and the inspirations behind it; their common-thread reading as an exploration of his identity.

Harrison greets me holding a Starbucks cup, his hands stained with dye after working on a project for his Armor Design and Fabrication class; seemingly fearless, wearing distressed shorts studded at the crotch. And in our meeting, the design student takes me to the Drawing Lab in Gearing Hall.

He shows me a couple of garments and cell phone pictures from his ready-to-wear portion of the show. Something that has always inspired me about Harrison is his ever-changing hair. With a soft-spoken voice, Harrison elaborates on the idea of stitching his own loose hair strands (dyed once every two weeks, beginning since last semester) throughout the three looks, inspired by Alexander MQueen’s label, that (in my observation) is meant for a creative outlet to process evolving and aging.

We walk into the Sewing Lab, where Harrison plans to fit his mother, Lisa Graham Beveridge, for a custom dress to wear during the anticipated showcase.

While talking with me, Harrison’s sister, Abigail Koiwai, sits next to him on top of a desk, the tips of her hair matching that of her brother’s present light-brown color.

The family’s sense of closeness fills the room and I watch Lisa and Abigail fight back tears, telling me of Harrison’s childhood spent playing hockey and wearing a wedding suit in the summertime.

An Australian good-luck bracelet Abigail brought for the designer moves quickly, as he pins the garment with Lisa standing in the amethyst material draped over her shoulders; in turn, she recalls Harrison pairing outfits together early on in the first grade.

“[It’s] not how hard it was--but is it possible, and how do I get there?” Lisa said, commenting on her son’s ambitious nature.

I recently found Harrison’s photo spread in Tribeza magazine; he sits cross-legged, wearing perfectly tailored slacks with a matching koala print sweater. A model dressed in the bridal piece from his collection stands looking over her shoulder and onto him. I don’t know what she notices, but I see someone brave, someone who I’d like to be.

Late at night on the eve of the Contour Fashion Show, Harrison is awake finishing his mother’s present, with plans to start another dress for Abigail, and I continue to write.

“I don’t always believe in myself, but I believe in what I’m doing,” he said over our phone call.

His statement resonates with me, and upon hearing this, I remember Lisa’s coinciding words: “He doesn’t know it, how amazing he really is,” she said. “I’ve always known it,” Lisa continued. “I’ve just been waiting on the world to notice it.”

Thus, with five local magazines and newspapers reporting on Contour, it’s clear that the world is not only starting to notice young talent, like Harrison and his peers, but has been looking forward to both embracing and celebrating it at the annual event.

For more information on designers and the fashion show, please see the University Fashion Group website, and visit these following article links:

-The Horn: “The Road to Contour”
By: Andi Salazar

-Spark Magazine: “Conversations” [pages 23-30]
By: Tyler Neal, Ronit Joselevitz, and Jonathan Ochart

-“Harrison and Kaidon” [pages 31-36]
Photography by: Quit Nguyen

-“Sofia Maldonado” [pages 37-40]
Photography by: Quit Nguyen/styled by: Roberta Izquierdo

-The Daily Texan: “Designers present their final pieces as textiles and apparel design students at UT”
By: Karin Samelson/photo by: Batli Joselevitz

-Austin American-Statesman: “UT students put their collections to the runway test”
By: Courtney Sebesta

-Tribeza: “Young Bloods” (the Designer) [pages 52-53 continued on 55]
By: Lisa Siva/photography by Andrew Chan