“Honoring endangered craft traditions while reimagining their place in the future of fashion.”
Lillia Whittington is a fourth-generation seamstress and educator whose sewing-centered practice explores creativity, connection, and the joyful, human energy of the clothes we wear and the memories we hold. Her work welcomes the viewer to come closer and connect on an intimate level, inviting them to explore tactile details ranging from pleating, gathering, English smocking, embroidery, and scrap building to build texture and dimension. Whittington presents apparel and fiber wall-hangings alongside mixed-media arts as forms of remembrance, with each garment being an embodiment of generational knowledge passed down from her grandmothers and teachers. Both as a reflection of the tacit skills learned along the way and to honor her teachers shared knowledge.
Whittington is inspired by both the past and present of the sewing and craft space. She incorporates crafts that are considered "endangered," such as English smocking, into her designs to honor past traditions and build awareness of dying practices. At the same time, her research into virtual fitting software (VFS) examines how emerging technology is reshaping the DIY sewing industry, blending historical craft into conversations with a digital future. Her teaching practice extends this bridge further, creating space for others to participate in that ongoing conversation through workshops and creating curriculum in higher education. Whittington's work is currently rooted in her homestead, Tomato Skies, in Denton, TX, where she lives with her husband and two dachshunds, Beans and Bootsy.
