Site is Under Construction :)
Site is Under Construction :)
Meet the Artist!
Hi :) My name is Tiffany Suporn. I’m from Bridgeport, Connecticut, and I graduated May 2026 from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a Bachelor of Science in Communication, Media, and Design, and a minor in Studio Arts. I’m the daughter of immigrants, my mom from Cambodia and my dad from Thailand, and growing up in an Asian immigrant family meant there was always quiet pressure to pursue something practical. For a while I tried to follow that path and even started a major in Civil Engineering. But the things that always held my attention were creative. Art, fashion, styling, and generally just making things with my hands were the outlets that felt the most natural to me.
For most of my teenage years I didn’t really get to explore personal style the way a lot of people do. I went to a private Catholic high school where we wore uniforms every day. It wasn’t until after graduating that I started experimenting with makeup, hair, and clothes and figuring out what I actually liked. I wanted to recreate silhouettes I loved without paying designer prices, change the fit of thrifted pieces, and eventually make things exactly the way I imagined them.
I had a sewing machine in high school, but it mostly collected dust. It was cheap, constantly jammed, and I broke plenty of needles learning how to use it. At first I only used it for small fixes like hemming pants or tightening shirts. My mom had tried teaching me to sew when I was younger and I had taken a consumer science class in middle school, but I didn’t really start experimenting until the end of high school.
One of the first things I made completely from scratch was a tote bag. That bag actually became the star bag featured in one of the looks in this collection. I even used scraps from those fabrics to make some of my first beanies. At the time it felt like a small project, but looking back it was the start of me realizing I could actually build something with this skill.
During my freshman year at RPI I started living by myself and needed both a hobby and a way to make a little extra money. That’s when I started a small project called TLS and began making satin lined beanies out of upcycled blankets and sweaters. I sold them to friends on campus out of my dorm room. TLS stood for “Totally Lame Shit,” which felt funny at the time but definitely wasn’t fashion show appropriate. When I began preparing this collection I landed on the name TALIS. It still felt connected to TLS, but sounded more grown up, which felt fitting as both the project and I had changed.
Between those early beanies and this collection, my skills slowly improved. I started making full pieces for myself, experimenting with more complicated construction, and even making cosplays for my boyfriend and me. Eventually I got to the point where I felt comfortable wearing things I made out in public.
After agreeing to design for the fashion show the summer before my senior year, I decided to splurge on one thing that would actually make a difference. I bought one of the cheaper Singer Heavy Duty machines, but compared to what I had before it felt like a huge upgrade. Suddenly seams were cleaner, thicker fabrics were manageable, and projects that used to feel frustrating started moving faster.
The collection itself came together through a lot of trial and error. One piece I knew I wanted from the start used neckties. I seam ripped and steamed them open to get as much fabric as possible, and the shapes started pointing toward some kind of dress or skirt. Then I hit a wall and the project sat untouched at the bottom of my pile for weeks. One day it suddenly clicked. Even before all the ties were sewn together, I could see the final silhouette. I locked in and had a wearable piece in less than two days.
Every garment in this collection is made from thrifted textiles. Some fabrics used to be tablecloths, pillowcases, curtains, or other forgotten things. Part of the fun for me is imagining what a piece used to be before turning it into something completely different. Upcycling is practical, but it’s also a creative challenge. Working with unconventional materials forces you to think differently and get a little scrappy with your design choices.
TALIS started as a dorm room side project and has grown into something closer to a personal archive of my work. The pieces in this collection represent years of experimenting, messing up, improving, and figuring things out as I go. It’s basically my style stitched together. If people walk away thinking the collection looked cool, or wondering what those fabrics used to be before they became these garments, then I’ve done what I set out to do.