Saturday 1 April 2017

Paper and upcycled material dresses

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Heap of newspapers, coupons and the like including plastic foil, scissors, glue, hundreds of staples, colouring sprays ... and random pieces of fabric…This is how it all began! My first collection of haute couture dresses made from upcycled materials.




Trash Fashion Show - Calcata, August 2014



The idea to create a collection of costumes made from found materials was born almost 6 years ago, when I moved from London to Italy, I was living in Verona for a short amount of time before I fell in love with and settled in a small medieval village, built on a volcanic rock near Rome, called Calcata ... I relocated to Calcata with a friend, Mike Paterson, a photographer from Los Angeles and we decided to collaborate on a joint photo project together.
When we arrived in Calcata, we realised that, with limited financial resources and restricted access to the "outside world" (Calcata is famous for its little to no phone and internet signal) we were unequipped to organize a production crew. And yet, we had a choice - either to give up on our project and enjoy a month of holiday in this unique village, or try our best to organize photo shoots, just the two of us if necessary ... The decision was easy – ‘Let’s try to do what we can with what we have, where we are...' I was in charge of the Art Department - makeup, hair and costumes, casting local talent (models) and the location scouting remained in Mike’s hands. I began to collect Old Italian newspapers from the local bars to create the first costumes.
 

We produced two photo sessions and I regret to say that we were unable to fully complete our project together. Mike had to return to LA, and I stayed in Calcata, developing my ideas of creating paper dresses for each month of the year – a calendar of sorts. I began my search for photographers in Rome, whom would be interested in collaborating with me.


Here is a link to the video of one of the photo session for The Trash Fashion Show, together with Barbara Pawlukiewicz and Marco Carusotti


My first show with 13 dresses (12 months + a wedding dress) The Trash Fashion show took place on the 15th August 2014, a Calcata.

Photos HERE


The next big event with my paper dresses - an improvised show Dance with the Earth, happened in 2016, in Italy and Poland - please see some details here


Enjoy!