New alumni spotlight alert: Felicia Podberesky! Scroll down to read about Felicia’s time in Armour, her favorite shoots, and what she is up to now.
What was your favorite Armour editorial?
I’d have to go with the very first one we ever shot for Armour, called Heavy Metals, in our debut issue.
Why was it your favorite?
Up until that point, Armour was completely unknown on campus and just a style blog trying to make itself as a fashion magazine. We pooled all of our jewelry, rented out the photo studio and equipment, and made it happen. There were no rules, no expectations, and no one to answer to . . . which I’ve come to learn is a very rare moment. Making something from nothing felt both terrifying and exhilarating.
What’s been your trajectory since graduating WashU?
I have been working in the fashion industry as a womenswear designer for almost a decade and have recently revisited my fine art roots as I create graphite drawings, illustrations, and paintings dedicated to my love of figure drawing and anatomy studies.
What’s been your favorite part of job?
My favorite parts of designing are the bookends of the creative process: those first few moments of coming up with an idea when you’re buzzing with inspiration, gathering fabrics, and starting initial sketches and then the final moments when your 2D vision becomes a 3D garment. I’m very tactile and think through drawing and problem solving so I enjoy translating the vision I have in my mind onto paper and then onto the figure.
Right now, I’m a freelance womenswear designer and fine artist. I was recently accepted as a member of the Met Museum’s Spring 2023 Copyist Program where I will be spending 8 weeks on-site in the museum working on a master copy painting, a once-in-a-lifetime experience so far.
In addition, I’ve been co-founding an NYC-based creative community called epilogue, dedicated to bringing creatives of all disciplines together to connect, find inspiration, work on projects, and feed their creative souls.
Would love if you could talk about any work you send! Maybe the story behind and what your favorite thing about it is.
I think the most special piece I’ve created recently is this graphite and charcoal drawing I made of my parents’ intertwined hands. My mother actually took the photo and I spent about a year on and off working on it, by far the longest I’d ever spent on any work. I returned to it over and over to build more depth and it felt really personal to draw a subject matter so close to me.
How has Armour influenced your job trajectory and your life today?
Armour was such a special time during my WashU years collaborating with all different creatives across majors, even when they weren’t in the art school. That cross-discipline approach has stuck with me and is something I constantly seek out. I get really inspired when I can connect with a creative who has a completely different perspective and approach than I do.
What was the most valuable lesson that you learned while working at Armour?
We spoke about it in our very first EIC letter- the goal of Armour was never about high end fashion or good vs. bad style. It was the idea that clothing and finding your own style would give you the confidence to endure life’s daily battles. I don’t even think I knew how relevant it was at the time but it has given me the confidence to rock whatever I’m wearing when I need it most.
Any advice for current Armourites?
Explore, experiment, and make every day worth it in some way while you have a built-in community full of resources at your disposal. It will be over quicker than you think and you’ll wish you could go back to those late-night studio moments. Thank you for keeping this little idea going for all these years and breathing new life into it every issue.
Featuring Felicia Podberesky
Armour Magazine Season 30 — F/S 2023
