Grace DuVal, class of ‘06, has always been an artistic individual. With her mother being a dancer/performer and her father a writer, she naturally developed a taste for the arts. From the Natural Bridge Station, DuVal attended our very own Rockbridge County High School. She had always been recognized as an artistically gifted student. She took numerous art classes throughout high school, such as decorative and functional art.
She explains how her middle school home economics class helps her realize her talent.
“That kind of kicked off something in my brain that was like ‘Oh wait, I can do something with this’,” DuVal said.
As this revelation sparked in her brain, she began going to the Lexington Goodwill, thrifting, fixing and crafting things. It was the catalyst for her busy, fantastic education and career.
“Grace was in my English 11 class her junior year and was a remarkable student. Her insightfulness and willingness to take creative risks impressed me as much then as now. I will never forget her visual project for Transcendentalism – an amazing skirt which she created to represent the themes of individualism, idealism, and the divinity of nature. It was stunning,” teacher Amanda Burks said.
DuVal attended and earned a bachelor’s degree at VCU in Richmond, the capital of Virginia, as well earning two degrees from the Art I
nstitute of Chicago in Illinois.
DuVal explains that the two degrees she earned at the Art Institute of Chicago were from a program called fashion, body, and garment.
“It’s like an experimental program that is all about basically combining fashion and art. It’s not about making and working inside the fashion industry. It’s not costume. It’s like fashion, as art,” said DuVal.
These many degrees help her to make fantastic pieces.
DuVal describes her style as “dopamine dressing”.
“It’s very colorful and fun, and really it’s about what brings me joy… in retrospect, it’s always been that way, like when I was in highschool, I was wearing rain boots to class and always doing really fun, colorful stuff,” DuVal said.
Her pieces are typically comprised of bold colors, prints, textures, and extravagant shapes and accessories.
DuVal has been participating in New Zealand’s World of Wearable Art Show on and off since 2009. This year was her seventh year being a part of the show. Inspired by the orange construction work material that was common due to earthquake damage repairs, as well as New Zealand’s natural greens, she spent seven years constructing this year’s show piece. This took a lot of trial, error, models, and most importantly, materials and resources.
This year, DuVal was declared the winner of the Avant Garde section, as well as winner of the show as a whole. This award is called the Pinnacle Supreme WOW Award. This means she not only surpassed her co-competitors, but appealed to a series of judges over a period of time. This isn’t an easy feat, since art is incredibly subjective.
Through all of her experiences, degrees, and hard work, she ultimately succeeded in getting one of the most important awards in wearable art, where she even met the Prime Minister of New Zealand. Her endeavors have taken her across the nation and even internationally, with her currently residing in Massachusetts, with her lovely cat, G. One of our very own Rockbridge County born-and-raised, Grace DuVal is a talent we are grateful to know. We are positive she’ll make many more beautiful pieces.
