The topic I originally began to look into for the upcycle project is animal abuse involved in the fashion industry.  Millions of animals are killed every year so that we can wear them, or animals are tested on (without regard for their well being) for our fiber for our clothing products.  After further research, I discovered that much of clothing made from animals comes from the meat industry, which sells extra animal parts (like skin) to leather companies.  So, the issue also stems from the meat industry.

With this, I wanted to create activist wear that comments on the animal cruelty involved in clothing.

Original garments:

Crew neck sweatshirt and hunting pants from the thrift store.

Sketches:

Process:

First, I took off the sleeves from the crew neck and layed it flat.  I traced the shape on to the hunting pants and cut it out.  This way, I would have a new sleeve from different fabric but with the correct measurements.

Then, I painted over the final garment the words “Fuck Meat” to evoke a response.

 

 

 

– description:

We are a feminist group raising awareness for equality of women in media!

– your objectives – long view ideas for change:

The objective is to create better treatment of women in media.  Women who become successful via media aren’t given the credit they deserve; they aren’t taken seriously, they are objectified or stereotyped, and they are seen as lesser than the men who made it in media.

– your goals – short term, small steps to initiate social change:

Reveal what women in media are doing behind the scenes and show how hard women have had to work to make it in media.  Exposing injustices that current women in media have faced in the past is a great way to get peoples’ attention and create a short term spur.

– who is the audience:

Everyone!

– 5 ideas to achieve your goals

Posters, zines, stickers, instagram, and in the future we could go into short films, documentary style films, ETC.

– Inspo:

Barbara Kruger

 

Environmental sustainability has become important in the fashion industry.  More and more brands are going green, and more and more customers are growing conscious of the clothes they buy.  With this, “eco-friendly” has become a selling point for clothing companies.  This is happening because brands are responding to the customers’ demands, not the earth’s.  Brands aren’t trying to take fault for the apparel industry’s damages to the earth, they are simply using the rise of environmentalism as a marketing tool.

 

Concept:  My field site was a Haitian cafe in Hoboken, NJ.  I wanted to represent the cafe in an abstract way, visually representing the vibe of the place.  It was small, very friendly/full of conversation, and there also was a lack of communication due to the abundance of people working on their computers.  So, I made a tapestry to create this feel of a “barrier,” and I used vertical and organic elements to also represent this contrast.  I chose to use bright colors because I was inspiried by the bold, colorful art from Haiti on the cafe’s walls. I died my fabric with tea, coffee, and spices, and I used recycled materials since the cafe stressed their earth consious values.

 

Reflection: Throughout the process of making this piece, I found that it could be interpreted in many different ways.  Shari mentioned that you could view it on the other side, where the punch needle created a wild, organic, growth-like patterm.  A few classmates pointed out that the piece could be staged between two people for symbolic purposes, or that the piece could be a sort of flag.  With this, I found that the piece could be versatile and up for interpretation.

The topic I am looking into for the upcycle project is animal abuse involved in the fashion industry.  Millions of animals are killed every year so that we can wear them, or animals are tested on (without regard for their well being) for our fiber for our clothing products.  The process of creating new clothing from animals is abusive and damaging to the environment, yet it isn’t talked about very much.  I think making a garment with a political statement is a great way to draw attention to the subject.

 

Some sites with information about the issue:

 

Animals Used for Clothing

 

Animals Used for Clothing

Fashion and Animal Welfare: Everything You Should Know Before You Buy

 

 

These pieces were made by Al Loving, a mixed media artist.  I found his works inspiring because he uses abstraction to create unique art that makes the viewer want to know more.  Loving makes his wall hangings by dying strips of torn canvas and attaching them together.

For my piece, I also want to do a wall hanging that incorporates strips of fabric–weaving in geomoetric pattern.  I think this process reflects interconectivity in a way, and I would like to dye my fabric with tea and coffee since my site is a coffee shop.  I would also embroider over the wall hanging in an organic pattern, which would contrast the gridlike weave (I noticed a contrast in the activity of my coffee shop).