In my senior year at Parson’s, a professor suggested an idea of mine to Rei Kawakubo’s team, who was working on the installation for the Met Gala. The conflation of fashion, art, and boundless creativity of the event had been influential to my understanding of what was possible on a grand scale. Being able to turn an idea from my notepad into a 20ft tall installation complete with 300,000 roses, was a dream come true. (Even if we had to put each rose in water by hand.)