FASHION. IS. TRASH.
New York, NY. 2017
A FOCUS ON HOW MASS CONSUMERISM HAS DESTROYED THE SPECIALTY OF CRAFT IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF FASHION PRODUCT AS A WHOLE.
BASED ON HIGH DEMANDS BY THE CHAIN,
EXTENDING FROM THE INCREASING CONSUMER DEMAND TO DEPARTMENT STORES, SEEING DEMAND AS OPPORTUNITY TO INCREASE REVENUE, CAUSING FACTORIES TO UNDERCUT WORKERS' WAGES WITH PRESSURE TO PRODUCE MORE FOR LESS;
DUE TO OVERT ADVERTISING AND REPRESENTATION IN POP CULTURE, WHICH, OVER THE YEARS, HAS INCREASED MASS PRODUCTION, FINALLY GIVING WAY TO EXCESSIVE WASTE IN DISPOSABLE CLOTHING.
A COLLECTION OF PIECES INSPIRED BY ONE OF THE TOP POLLUTING INDUSTRIES ON THE PLANET; FASHION
IN THIS SERIES, ELISE EXPLORES CREATING PRODUCTS THAT NOT ONLY EXPOSE AND CHALLENGE THE DAMAGES CAUSED BY THE FASHION INDUSTRY, BUT REVERSE THEM.
CREATED OUT OF MATERIALS WHICH WOULD OTHERWISE BE DISCARDED AS TRASH, GIVING THEM NEW LIFE BY WAY OF INNOVATIVE DESIGN, ELISE CREATES PRODUCTS MADE TO CONFRONT AND TRANSFORM. CLOTHING DESIGNED AS A SOLUTION.
PROCESS
FREEDOM IS BURNING
ELISE’S GRANDPARENT’S OLD DRESS SHIRTS ARE REPURPOSED INTO TWO MURALS. ELISE USES RED WHITE AND BLUE AS SYMBOLISM FOR HER CONFLICTING RELATIONSHIP WITH HER AMERICAN HERITAGE AND WHAT THAT MEANS TO HER IN THE CURRENT POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CLIMATE. SHE TAKES GARMENTS WHICH HOLD SENTIMENTAL VALUE, LOADED WITH MEMORIES OF HER CHILDHOOD AND THE IMPRESSION HER FAMILY LINEAGE HAS LEFT UPON HER, TO CREATE A NEW PICTURE OF HER VIEW OF THE WORLD TODAY.
THE FIRST MURAL, MAKING UP THE FRONT SHIRT, DEPICTS ‘FREEDOM HANDS’ RELEASING FLAMES INTO THE SKY.
THE BACK PANEL OF THIS TOP FEATURES A MURAL OF ‘THE TREE OF LIFE’ STANDING TALL AGAINST PILES OF GARBAGE BAGS, WHICH FADE INTO A CITY SCAPE, SET AFLAME. THE SKY IS STREAKED WITH RED AND WHITE, MIMICKING THE AMERICAN FLAG. A BALLOON IN THE MURAL CREATES THE IRIS OF AN EYE, WHICH MAKES UP THE HOOD OF THE GARMENT. THE STRING ALONG THE BALLOON TURNS INTO A TEAR DROP, AND THE HEAD OF THE BALLOON MAKES A BULLSEYE. THE ‘HAND OF GOD’ REACHES DOWN FROM THE SKY TO CATCH THE ‘PEOPLE’ JUMPING OUT OF THE BURNING BUILDINGS OF THE CITY.
BIRTH OF THE NEW WORLD
CREATED OUT OF CHILDHOOD, DONATED AND FOUND DENIM JEANS, ELISE CREATES A MURAL DEPICTING THE NEW WORLD FORMING. MOTHER NATURE / MOTHER UNIVERSE, HOLDS HER PREGNANT BELLY OF THE NEW WORLD. HER BELLY IS CUT AND BLEEDING, BUT HELD TOGETHER WITH HER LOVE. THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD, ANGELS IN THE GALAXY, COME TOGETHER IN UNITY TO DANCE AROUND IN CELEBRATION.
