My name is Joshua Hawkins and I am a Visual Merchandising graduate, focusing my practice in Creative Direction, Fashion Styling and Concept Design. For my industry based Major Project and internship, I have been blessed to work in Harpur Hart Studios under Eleanor Harpur and Trevor Hart, where I have developed my skills in Art Direction and Visual Storytelling. My areas of interest have always been within using fashion as a tool to disrupt modern societal ideology and throughout my studies in TU Dublin,
I have been able to cultivate my own personal ideas, to fully executed creative briefs. This has inspired every project that I have completed, including my Major Project, a Plus size Capsule Collection and Campaign reacting to the regressive language and ideology used in media in the age of GLP-1 medications and fatphobia in 2026. I am so excited to develop my professional career within the fashion industry, as well as progressing my studies to postgraduate level.
‘Mute The Noise’
Each decade has been defined by visual ideologies: the 1990s popularised heroin chic, the early 2000s thrived on invasive tabloid culture, and the 2010s briefly embraced inclusivity and body positivity. However, today’s “Ozempic era” marks a return to thinness as the ultimate ideal, reinforced by celebrity culture and editorial imagery. My research shows plus-size inclusivity in fashion is declining, with 48% of consumers agreeing in reduced representation, alongside rising fatphobia linked directly to GLP-1 medications. 85% are more likely to support brands that include plus-size bodies.
This campaign highlights a designer, Orla Langan, that not only caters to plus size people, but designs for them. Acting as a visual commentary to these forms of media, using fashion as a tool, to disrupt, distort, and silence the narratives that perpetuate bodily shame. Taking influences from four decades of publications, this campaign unfolds across 3 scenes; The Press Room, The Office, and The Noise.
Photography By Trevor Hart.
‘Through The Orb’
‘Through The Orb’ is my Fashion & Branding project, acting as the Creative Director for Vivienne Westwood’s S/S 26 Window Campaign. It is a direct reaction to Vivienne Westwood’s ethos of heritage and design, seen through the lens of the iconic ‘orb’ emblem. The orb, long associated with Westwood’s brand, represents a tension between tradition and futurism, monarchy and subversion, order and chaos. Westwood’s take on iconic British heritage like tartan, tailoring and historical silhouettes with her own brand principles to create obscure and surreal designs throughout her work and this campaigns aim is to solidify this with a literal approach; iconic Westwood patterns and materials, seen through the orb.
Here, you can see some of my booklet pages as well as the final renders, in which I used SketchUp, VRay and Photoshop. This project was also accompanied with a full production, pricing and installation guide suitable for regional distribution.
