Where Movement Shapes Form: Fashion Through the Eyes of Artistic Skater Ella Wilkins

At the Future Art & Design Award 2025 Winter Season, Ella Wilkins was awarded the Gold Prize in Fashion Design for The Vermilion Aperture, a work that draws from Taiwanese temple architecture to construct a garment rooted in structure, symbolism, and movement. Blending her background as a professional artistic roller skater with formal training in fashion and stage costume design, Ella approaches clothing as both spatial construction and performative form. The Vermilion Aperture transforms architectural elements—roof tiles, carved pillars, hexagonal windows—into wearable silhouettes, where cultural memory is translated through material, pattern, and handcraft. Below, Ella shares her creative background and the process behind this award-winning work.

Interview with Ella Wilkins

Q: Please give us a brief introduction about yourself and your creative background.

Ella:

Hi! My name is Ella (She/her). I am a 20-year-old professional Artistic Roller Skater. Since I was very young, I have liked to draw. I currently study Fashion design at a university in Taiwan, and Stage costume design (online courses) at a university in the US.

Q: What inspired you to pursue a career in creative / art / design?

Ella:

When I was about 12 years old, I started skating. I learned that for competitions we have to wear special skating costumes. However, when my mom and I went online to look for a suitable costume, we found that all the costumes on the market were either horrendous or ridiculously expensive. That’s when we decided to try making our own costume. After gaining some experience, I decided to make my costumes by myself, and have been in love with the process ever since. When it came time to apply for university, I decided to study Fashion design and Stage Costume Design.

Q: Can you describe the creative process behind your work and what motivates you to create?

Ella:

My creative process started with finding a topic. I’ve always found the Taiwanese temples I grew up going to fascinating. So, I decided to create a design inspired by it. Using the silhouette of the temple, I designed the shape of my garments. For example, the shape of the skirt is like the tiles on the roof, and the corset shape is directly inspired by the traditional hexagonal windows.

Q: What was the most exciting or challenging part of creating the work you submitted to the competition?

Ella:

During the construction process, I ran into a little problem. I took the outlines of the temple’s roofs, pillars, and carvings to make the pattern seen on the skirt. However, after the fabric was printed, I realized the lines were a little too thin! I then spent about 30+ hours hand embroidering gold chains onto the fabric to make the line of the pattern thicker. It was totally unplanned, but it turned out even better than I had hoped. It truly was a happy accident.