As an athlete who struggles with mild to severe asthma, I felt it was important to try to address the issue in fashion. My collection features outerwear, such as jackets and masks to help ease any breathing irritations while active. While the other pieces in the collection help to bring out my Visual Kei (a Japanese subculture) inspiration. Unfortunately there isn’t much in the way of products that meet this need. Companies have created face masks for Elevation training, winter sports, hunting, and cyclists. The problem is consumers wouldn’t think to repurpose these products for asthma and other breathing ailments. Current styles also leave the consumer unsatisfied with their designs. One method I have used is lining these jacket and mask pieces with felted Nomex. Nomex is a heat resistant material used by firefighters, most commonly as knitted masks under helmets. Nomex can repel heat but also trap the body’s natural heat in cold weather. Its keep purpose is to keep dust and ash from entering the lungs of the wearer. I plan to use the Nomex in my fashion collect exactly how it would be worn by a firefighter on scene of a fire. Marketing this collection as edgy and eye catching is a nod to the styling of Visual Kei and 80’s hair bands. The looks take on a more masculine attitude that inspires confidence and strength. The result of this fashion collection is to offer athletes with asthma a new method of improving the physical performance.