Ali Rielly

Instagram: @alirielly_designs
Hometown: Columbus, Ohio
Collection name: Impossible Gifts
Three words to describe her collection: Feminine, structured, luminous

For her collection Impossible Gifts, Ali Rielly has found inspiration in Grimm’s Fairy Tales, Hollywood’s Golden Age … and a whole lot of chainmail. Each of her pieces in the show have custom-made pieces of chain work, she notes, but one showstopping gown is entirely aluminum chainmail—over 50,000 individual rings, which together weigh in at more than 15 pounds. In addition to this heavy metal piece, Rielly uses such materials as silk satins and organzas in her designs. “I utilized a combination of my models’ personalities and style, along with the natural drape of the materials, to achieve a historically inspired, yet still modern feeling look,” she says. Rielly transferred to CCAD and says that while she loved making costumes for Halloween and the Renaissance Faire, it was only after taking a costume design class at her previous school that she realized she was eager to learn more. Consequently, she took a break from school and made several one-off costumes before transferring to CCAD. Here, “I have learned a lot about myself and interests,” Rielly says. After graduation, Rielly hopes to land a job making costumes for the film industry, and to travel.