Q+A with Dania Chirino Weinraub
Parsons BFA 2025
Memory, Me & I
At No Kill Magazine, we’re after what might change the game — not just what’s next. Some of the sharpest ideas are coming from designers rewriting fashion’s rules.
In Next Gen / No Kill, we spotlight standout fashion graduates whose work opens up new conversations and possibilities. From New York’s top programs and beyond, these are the designers shaping a future of fashion defined by intelligence, creativity, and intention.
Thesis Statement
Modern design processes predominantly center on the “Me” aspect of consumer identity—how individuals are externally perceived, labeled, and marketed to. This emphasis allows mass production to thrive by reducing people to generalized consumer profiles, prioritizing broad trends over individual expression. As a result, retail goods often lose emotional depth and personal significance. My thesis challenges this model by shifting focus to the “I”—the internal self shaped by memory, emotion, and lived experience. I explore how clothing can become a medium for self-authorship rather than mass conformity. Through one-on-one collaboration and the transformation of sentimental objects into detailed prints, I propose a design system that embeds personal meaning directly into the material. This process honors the emotional narratives behind each item, reclaiming individuality and restoring a sense of intimacy and connection within the design process.
What is the inspiration or concept behind your collection?
Modern design often caters to the “Me” of consumer identity, how individuals are perceived, categorized, and marketed to, flattening uniqueness into trend-driven generalizations. My thesis challenges this model by centering the “I”: the internal self shaped by memory, emotion, and lived experience. I hypothesize that by translating emotionally significant objects into textile design, we can preserve their essence and create garments that tell real stories, visual expressions of identity that resist mass-produced aesthetics.
I began with my own family. Through intimate sessions, I invited them to share personal objects, heirlooms, and everyday items tied to their sense of self. These conversations revealed layered narratives and individual aesthetic sensibilities. Each print became a portrait of identity, rooted in memory and reimagined through design. Memory, Me & I reframes design as a deeply personal, emotional act, rejecting uniform solutions and returning creative authorship to the individual.
What’s one material or technique you’re currently obsessed with?
For the past four years, I’ve been deeply focused on digital fabric printing, drawn to the endless possibilities it offers through digital tools. Lately, though, I’ve felt a strong pull toward embroidery. I’m originally from Guatemala, and while I’m self-taught, embroidery has always been a part of my life, a way for me to tell stories through surface design.
I’ve always believed in the balance of nature vs. nurture, and in this intense transition period of my life, it feels like the “nature” side is taking over. There’s also something healing about stepping away from screens, after years of staring at a computer and the lingering smell of printer ink, I’m craving something more tactile and grounded.
What does fashion mean to you today?
I’m not even sure, to be honest. I have a love-hate relationship with “fashion.” I don’t like to consider myself a fashion designer because that title carries a lot of baggage. Instead, I see myself as an artist who uses fashion—more specifically, garments—as a vessel for storytelling.
To me, fashion often feels tied to systems of class. There’s “high-end” fashion and “low-end” fashion, yet both are (sometimes) produced in the same offshored facilities. The same garment can be sold at drastically different prices depending on the label. People who shop fast fashion are shamed, and so are people who spend $25k on a purse—it’s a mess, full of contradictions and nuance. To me, fashion represents self-expression and freedom. But I’m also aware that the word is often tied to ideas like runways, models, and money. It’s complicated.
What’s one thing you wish the fashion industry would leave behind—and one thing it should embrace?
My thesis answer would be “designing for generalized personas” but let’s face it, it’s quite irrelevant to the issues caused by the fashion industry as a whole. Let’s move past a system that underpays garment workers, relies on forced labor or child labor, and allows unsafe working conditions. Let’s stop dumping waste into waterways, creating toxic living environments for everyone. Truthfully, these issues aren’t just about fashion, they’re symptoms of mass production as a whole.
My thesis argues that the fashion industry should embrace the nuances of consumer identity, especially at the individual level. We already know that one size doesn’t fit all, but if we truly designed with personal identity in mind, our world could become more colorful, more expressive, and ultimately, more meaningful. It’s totally idealized, I fully acknowledge that. Many people, myself included, might argue that we’ve strayed so far from that ideal that there’s almost no going back. But still… wouldn’t it be nice?
Who or what has shaped your design values most?
This is a really hard question to answer. Honestly, and I mean this in the least narcissistic way, I want to say myself. I struggled to stand up for my ideas for a long time, especially when challenged by professors or peers. Because these concepts started forming back in my freshman year, by the time I reached my thesis, I felt the need to own them fully. I pushed really hard to express my vision, both visually and through research. It was incredibly exhausting, but in the end, I’m proud that I stayed true to what I believed in.
That said, I’ve also had a few people close to me who helped build that confidence, whether it was an outside, non-fashion perspective affirming the value of my work, or even just a much-needed pep talk from my dad.
If you could design for anyone in the world, who would it be—and why?
When I think about my answer, a swirl of faces comes to mind: friends, family members, celebrities, artists. But for some reason, I keep thinking about a woman named Daisy Gonzalez.
When I was younger, my family would spend summers in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. Daisy ran an ice cream truck and treated all of us kids like we were her own. She remembered our faces, gave out hugs, and radiated love. You could be sitting inside your beach cottage, hear the jingle of the truck, and suddenly 20 (if not more) kids would be yelling, “Daisy!” It was the pinnacle of childhood. I always thought she was the coolest woman ever, and I still do.
If we ever collaborated, I think we’d create a rad line of ocean- and ice cream–themed clothes.
Three things keeping you sane right now
Family, friends, and music.
One word to describe your design approach: Introspective
Where can we find you online?
I’m currently going through a major transition period, so I’ve fallen a bit behind on sharing my work publicly. Once things settle, I plan to devote more time to it. For now, I’ve started an Instagram where I’ll be uploading more of my thesis work and future projects. My concept and portfolio are also posted on the Parsons BFA 2025 page, and I’m hoping to launch a proper website within the year.
