In the early 20th century, the fashion industry adhered to a more objective set of guidelines. Garments that were considered high fashion often shared observable similarities: they imitated classical pieces from history; there was order and precision in their structure; they adorned the human body and enhanced its innate beauty. In recent decades, however, fashion has branched out in a variety of directions, becoming highly subjective and even disordered. Can a faithful Christian work in such an industry where objective truth is pushed to the wayside, and the dignity of the human person is grossly undervalued? After graduating from Christendom College as valedictorian of the class of 2020, Isabella Reilly felt the Lord calling her to enter the fashion industry and reclaim it for His Kingdom.
Reilly did not always dream of entering the world of fashion. “I come from a family that is a beautiful mixture of highly creative and highly academic,” she explains. “Each of my family members has a craft, but we have also always pursued a liberal arts education. When I was in high school, a liberal arts college was my only consideration for higher education.”
From a young age, Reilly engaged in sewing as a necessity. “None of my clothing fit me right as a child, so I fearlessly started taking them apart,” she says.
Through this process, she became familiar with the structure of garments and how the pieces work together to form a whole.
Reilly works on a custom bridal gown in the studio.
In high school, she was inspired by Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella (2015) and was mesmerized by the gown actress Lily James wore to the grand ball in the film. This gown sparked Reilly’s imagination and gave her a greater appreciation for the tailoring that goes into creating a work of magic for the runway.
This story comes from the latest issue of Instaurare Magazine, the official magazine of Christendom College. Read more from Instaurare here!
After attending Christendom College and earning her B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in Theology, and working in the Advancement department post-graduation, Reilly felt the call to pursue her studies in the field of fashion. She believes that her education from Christendom better equipped her for this next step.
“This academic background and exposure to a classical philosophy of human nature, teleology, and aesthetics, as well as classical architecture, shaped my beliefs about the principles of beauty, objectivity of good design, and the central role of teaching the next generation,” she says.
She applied to a couple of different schools, including École Supérieure des Arts et Techniques de la Mode (ESMOD) in Paris, and was accepted to their undergraduate program in the fall of ’23. Reilly acknowledged that her Catholic education and traditional upbringing would set her apart from many of her classmates at ESMOD, but she chose to overcome those fears and view the challenge as an opportunity to share her Faith.
“I was greatly surprised by how accepting all my classmates were,” Reilly shares.
“To be truthful, I had been afraid, prior to starting at ESMOD, that I would be ostracized and discriminated against because I am deeply committed to my faith and Catholic morality. However, that didn’t turn out to be the case. Within a couple of months, my classmates knew I was a very religious person.”
Reilly relates that she had many amazing encounters and moments to evangelize:
“For example, there was a Catholic church a two-minute walk from my school, and on our class breaks, I would sometimes walk down to take a moment with God and would have to explain to my classmates, if they pressed me too hard, where I was going. Or there was a time that I explained and argued against IVF to a couple of homosexual classmates who had been saying that they would probably use IVF in the future. My classmates would ask me questions or seek explanations about aspects of religion or morality. I distinctly remember a time I talked for over an hour with a group of my girlfriends, explaining the coherence of the Church’s sexual morality. My personal conclusion was that everyone is so bizarre in the fashion world that they were okay with me being a different version of weird.”
Front entrance to the ESMOD school of design in Paris, France. Photo courtesy of ESMOD, credit: Maxim Monti.
Even in the belly of the beast, Reilly was able to share the light and truth of Christ to those who do not yet know Him. She owes the ability to express her beliefs to her strong foundation from Christendom College.
“I feel like I was a unique blessing to my classmates,” she says, “because it was statistically improbable that they would encounter someone who was able to articulate clearly their faith in an intellectual manner. Naturally, it was my time at Christendom as an undergraduate and graduate student that made that possible. I am particularly indebted to Dr. Arias and my classes at the graduate school for my ability to articulate moral issues.”
Studying and working at ESMOD, Reilly found that the idea of objective beauty in fashion design was nonexistent, a factor that became a challenge, because how can one determine whether a garment is good design? Back in her college days, Reilly’s passion for the subject had led her to research and write her undergraduate thesis on a philosophical critique and defense of fashion.
“I argued that fashion was actually a unique expression of man’s rational and social nature. It is only as rational beings that we are able to perceive beauty and attempt in an infinite number of ways to try and express it, and it is as social animals that we have a drive for social imitation and a desire to belong to a community while having individual self-expression.”
While Reilly continued her studies and read Pope Saint John Paul II’s Love and Responsibility and Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum, she further developed her beliefs about fashion. As a result, Reilly believes in objectively good or bad design, a position she realizes is very controversial in the fashion industry.
“Human clothing is intimately connected with the human person,” she explains, “both because it is for the protection and expression of the human individual and because it is created by human persons. Because of clothing’s intimate connection with the human person, I believe that the design, production, and wearing of clothing needs to be in keeping with what Pope Saint John Paul II calls ‘the personalistic norm’ in Love and Responsibility: because of the interiority that distinguishes persons from objects, persons are of such a nature that they cannot be used for the sake of something else.”
Even though Reilly’s beliefs and views about objective beauty greatly set her apart from her classmates in Paris, she maintained her identity while remaining rooted in Christ and the Church’s teachings.
“The desire to fit in, be approved by others, or avoid being the sole person holding a position can be a very strong force to fight,” she admits.
Reilly assists fellow alumna Elizabeth Santorum (née Eller) ’21 with her bridal gown, for which she provided custom alterations. Photo courtesy of Julie Wells Photography.
“In fashion, there is a strong desire to be distinctly unique and creative, but there is an equally strong desire to achieve that distinction in just the right way so that you are also accepted and acclaimed,” she says. “These desires, along with a highly competitive industry, can wear you down over time. My faith and spiritual and moral formation allow me to stay grounded and know what the objective guardrails or rules are as I pursue what inspires me.”
Reilly firmly believes that her time at Christendom helped her build the confidence that she needed to forge the path ahead and meet the requirements set before her, while remaining true to herself and her values.
“At one point, several of my ESMOD classmates made comments that I was the most truly confident person in who I was in my class, which allowed me to be unique,” she says.
Reilly remained in Paris, France, long enough to gain the skills she was seeking and make the right connections, claiming,
“I think that the most fundamental thing I gained from ESMOD was introductions to the right groups and cultural spheres. I am hoping this gives me the opportunity to make the long-term culture changes I am seeking.”
Since then, she has returned to the States and currently works as the Production Coordinator for a custom bridal designer in Charleston, South Carolina, while further pursuing her other future goals on the side.
“At the moment, I want to continue gaining experience and mastering my craft,” she says.
Reilly currently works as the Production Coordinator for a custom bridal designer in Charleston, South Carolina.
“My long-term goal is to start a school or educational institute that passes on traditional craftmanship in tailoring and dressmaking while also teaching and exploring the philosophical and moral context. Ultimately, I don’t necessarily want people to be wearing my designs; I want other designers to be thinking about my ideas.”
“Being creative is truly hard,” she admits, “but it is one of the most divine opportunities God gives us. We have the capacity to bring into being something that would not exist if we do not act. Moreover, pursuing a craft can be particularly challenging in American culture, which values white-collar jobs and cheap production. Nevertheless, craftsmanship and creativity provide an opportunity to testify to the value of human labor because of the value of the human person who produces it.”
When asked to share some parting words of encouragement to other creatives discerning how the Lord might be calling them to pursue their aspirations, Reilly says:
“Stay grounded and keep your inspiration alive. It is easy not to care at all about beauty or existential meaning after a 60-hour work week. If you are doing something hard and pursuing something that truly inspires you, make sure you survive the process. It doesn’t matter if you master your craft and achieve your goal if you destroy your inspiration and your unique insight into the divine in the process. It’s not always about success so much as staying faithful to your inspiration. We are not called to be successful, but faithful.”
Written by Julie (Wells) Funkhouser
Read more from Instaurare Magazine here.