Ever since I was little I have always enjoyed upcycling my old clothes into fresh new garments. As I've grown older my passion has developed into using unconventional materials and transforming them into garments and accessories. Now I've made my collection out of discarded tractor inner tubes!
Transforming waste into beautiful new garments is so satisfying. Seeing dirty rusty old butyl rubber turned into a beautiful engraved surface was so inspiring. I think people need to see this transformation. This material cannot be easily recycled and if it isn't, it release litres of toxic oil into the environment as it slowly decomposes. This is the way I work; I hate seeing things go to waste.
INSPIRATION
I am a mushroom enthusiast! There have been recent discoveries that Fungi eats through toxic waste. I thought that by mixing the 2 very different concepts - taking the DIY-esque apocalyptic costumes from the film Mad Max and the fact that Fungi eats up waste to generate my concept of 'Fungi Will Help Save Us from Dystopia'. I grew my own oyster mushrooms to observe how they grew and used them to create patterns and silhouettes. I then decided to grow them from a bike inner tube and use it as a belt!
The fashion industry being the second biggest polluter on the planet has inspired me to take my designs on a journey which takes a much more sustainable approach, using recycled materials, natural dyes and techniques that save waste from landfill.
DETAIL
I have used mushroom shapes to inspire the silhouettes of my garments, as well as taking a few key details such as the shoulders volume from the 2015 and 1981 film Mad Max's costumes. I've recycled bike cogs and recycled jewellery for details, finishings and fastenings. My collection takes on a warrior-esque approach towards helping reduce waste from the environment. Working with such a complex material has had its benefits and its difficulties. The natural curve of the inner tube means it's hard to work with, but it also means that it can be utilized to generate garment shapes naturally curved over the mannequin. I have used the laser-cutter to cut and engrave the rubber with patterns of the mushrooms that I grew. I naturally dyed recycled cotton and screen-printed mushroom motifs that I found in the new forest. I then used broken jewellery to embellish the prints.