Brennan Edwards

Biography

The fabric that makes up Brennan Edwards Fall 2020 collection has been in his family for decades. The hand-quilted fabric had been handed down to him by his grandmother.

“It’s very personal,” the December 2020 graduate said. “All my things are things I’d like to buy, but I make them specifically to fit me.”

Brennan, a fashion merchandising major with a minor in fashion design, has always felt like fashion was his calling. When he visited campus during Behind the Curtain, he got a firsthand look at everything the fashion merchandising students did to put on Threads. The backstage experience at the annual fashion show cemented his decision to come to Central Michigan University.

 “The hands-on nature of everything got me,” he said. “You have to start making things right away. It was out of my comfort zone, but I figured I might as well do it.”

In order to graduate, Brennan had to create a full collection. The fabric his grandmother had handed down to him would fit multiple criteria he wanted to meet for his designs: sustainable, inexpensive and personal.

“I was given fabric that had already had its own life,” he said. “You have to honor that fabric in a way. So, I ended up styling the collection to complement the quilted fabric.

“If you make a cut wrong, you may have less to work with in the end. But I wanted to use these in a way they’d be remembered.”

As his collection came together, he said it was like watching the pieces he had created come to life. He presented his final collection during the Spring 2021 Threads virtual show. 

“It’s a different feeling to see someone else in them,” Brennan said. “I was finally confident enough to make it happen. I was a lot more confident in the skills I had learned, and I knew I could do this.”