Spending Earth Day in Australia: Brisbane + Melbourne

Boa noite my readers and happy Earth Day,

Over the past six weeks, I have traveled literally to the other side of the globe, the other end of the planet that we are so dearly trying to preserve, from the Americas to Melbourne, Australia, where I have found myself confronted by amazingly prolific creative community, critical growth and feelings of difference, and more critically, by my environmental oversights.

Let's begin with those.

Beneath the beauty that is the sky, every toilet, include those at Tullamarine Airport to those in every club, restaurant, and home that I have visited is equipped with a dual flush so that every user can manage their water usage. Every outlet is equipped with its on on/off switch, And many showers are equipped with timers, so that the 10-minute shower is not exceeded, considering the issues of drought that such a vast landscape (and in essence, the entire planet) intimately confronts. Composting and recycling is as expected as taking out the trash, not a badge of honor but rather a sign of respect for oneself and one's home.

 

 

Australia is a country where I became more intimately confronted with my environmental oversights. It is also a country in a deeply complicit political place, currently facing control by almost unanimously detested government with prejudiced and inhumanely conservative politics, while also maintaining a standard a living where environmentalism is woven in the fabric of cultural life.


It is within this context that I have had the privilege and honor of collaborating with many brilliant creatives. To begin, I am firstly here collaborating with Katherine Soutar, visionary photographer (the photographer of the header image and so many other images of my work), and we have been interviewing various women about the things that they desire politically, socially, and imaginatively to reach their peak of power. More on that later.

I secondly had the honor of showcasing at indie artist showcase RAW Brisbane in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, alongside hair artist Sarah Courtney and makeup artist, C. Williams Artistry, with the models who brought it to LIFE- Lisa Anderson, Louise Geoghegan, Amber Sawyer, Elizabeth Sotiria, and Aesha Sylla.

Official photos from RAW Brsibane and the brilliant creative director, Tash Dombrow, are forthcoming, but just to get a sense of what was created, it involved everything from wire to body paint, and a synergy of creative interests in the environment and cross cultural collaboration. There was no silent competition- energies were fresh, vibrant, generous, and committed to creating a fantastic presentation.

 

(Cole Williams of C. Williams Artistry creating his vision with Lisa Anderson as canvas)

(Sarah Courtney working her hair sculpture magic on Louise Geoghegan as canvas)

(A few shots before the presentation on the catwalk)

 

 

 

And a fantastic presentation we did.

 

(Photo Credit: Sarah Courtney)

(Photo Credit: Priya Puri)

(Photo Credit: Interlaced Media)

 



 

(Photo Credit: Sarah Courtney)

 

(After Show Glow)

(The incredible sky that we showcased under)

The past six weeks in Australia (well, Melbourne and Brisbane, more specifically) have been magical. The idea that I would pick up my bags and my collection and be met with a such talented creatives, magnifiscent skies and environmental consciousness woven into the very fabric of the culture was more than I could have asked for. This experience, and the inquiry of a wise friend, got me thinking more deeply about my intentions with this work, and how honing in on those intentions could continue this beautiful ebb and flow of meaningful collaborations and positive social change.

Bricolage + Post Apocalyptic Sustainable Living

Bom dia, boa noite, greetings from Melbourne Australia,

Not sure which time zone you are in (I'm about 16 hours ahead of New York), but whatever time it is, I hope that it is beautiful!

Before I blog about- HOW? WHEN? WHY? WHAT? I'm doing here in Melbourne, Australia, literally the other side of the planet from where ReciclaGEM has been based, let me debrief you all on how our first presentation of "Bricolage" went down.

It is Friday February 28th, and after the amazing photo shoot that was the River Revista's first fashion editorial for its inaugural issue, a series of pre-travel doctor's appointments, and the anxiety of knowing that I had to catch a plane taking me on the longest flight of my life (20+ hours) and move out of my apartment at the same time (we're taking ReciclaGEM on the road!), I had a collection to finish.

The process of creating the collection was as apocalyptic as the animated world that inspired it.

The overwhelm of life, time, health fluctuations, relationships ebbs, and life flows become the very things we consume in the path towards both getting in touch with the earth and others and getting in touch with the dreams nestled with the peace of our minds.

Like all artists these were things that weighed on me as I rushed to the Gallatin Fashion Show, quilted garments in tow, safety pins in need, models to fit, and an audience of fashion aficionados and peers to impress.


And then the words of Mutu's planetary protagonists began to make sense....

"I never meant to leave"

" I needed to escape"

"And now it's so far"

"Who knows where"

"It's been like this for a very long time"

"It follows me, and I them"

 

"We've always been"

"Hungry..."

"...alone...

 "...and together"

What if "The End of eating Everything," the end of consuming all of life's anxieties, throws, and the waste that results from our dealings with these things, is the beginning of becoming confident, reclaiming what we have already used and rebuilding new bodies that are so bold we have no choice but to embrace and honor everything within and around them. 

Perhaps the path to a truly sustainable commitment to "ethical" living emerges through picking up the pieces of our own life so that we can begin to see the glorious world covered by the shards. 

I have not blogged for a few days now because I have been picking up the pieces of my own life in an effort to more clearly and sustainably commit myself to the ethics of living. 

The creation of Bricolage helped me to get past The End of eating Everything within my energetic reserves and Begin the journey towards slow, thoughtful living that is sustainable and self sustained. 

A Professor in the U.S. once told me that she believes we are already in the Post-Apocalypse. But perhaps the forest fire is what we need to begin a sustainable Bright New Day. 

The Future Present is Bright,

T*

Thoughts behind Fall 2014 "Bricolage": Wangechi Mutu + The End of eating Everything

If you happened to catch the wonderful Black Star News article on my upcoming show, then you would have already been introduced to the theme of the collection.

If not, then let me share it with you.

Contemporary artist Wangechi Mutu has created hybrid bodies through her mixed media art that has spoken to me for years. They speak to my body, a physical and social body that I see represented in her work, they speak to my intellectual body, a body that mixes academic theory with spirituality, poetic mysticism with craftsmanship, and the moral body that seeks to create a more unified, peaceful world.

(Wangechi Mutu, "The Bride who Married a Camel's Head, 2009)

(Wangechi Mutu, "Misguided Little Unforgivable Hierarchies, 2005)

(Wangechi Mutu, "Riding Death in My Sleep," 2002)

(Wangechi Mutu, "Root of All Eves, 2010)

(Wangechi Mutu, "A Shady Promise," 2006)

In her most recent exhibition, A Fantastic Journey, originally commissioned by the Nasser Museum at Duke University, and now at the Brooklyn Museum, Mutu features her first animation project. The animation, entitled "The End of eating Everything" displays an amorphous, planetary, and violent body, embodied by performance artist, Santigold, as it navigates grey matter terrain and eats the last of what is left in the universe until it implodes.

(A brief clip of the 8 minute animation)

This animation did many things for many people and artists. But for me, it provoked me to explore what my solution is to the state of dire over-consumption in which we find our world. (According to Patagonia-founder, Yvon Chouinard, the United States alone uses the energy of seven planets! Now what do I do to not feel paralyzed and horrible but actively do SOMETHING about it?)

Bricolage is my solution. While the philosophy of ReciclaGEM or recycling materially and socially has been my primary focus since I began this project in 2010, "Bricolage" is a new approach which provides more room and space for creative and authentic solutions.

In my dire attempt to fit into the "activist" community, I have found myself growing into a consciously minded but moderately self-loathing artist. Creating to the point of dire exhaustion, becoming overwhelmed with guilt every time I turned on my sewing machine and let alone used a down jacket in the dead of winter.

However, I realized that in the same way that I do not judge or shame others for the complexity of their ethics, neither should I do the same to myself.

Bricolage is an attempt to fuse together the complexity of YOUR narrative in a way that fits your unique story, your unique purpose, and in essence creating a collage of your contributions to this planet in a way that mixes informed-reality with aspiration, resulting in inspiration.

Bricolage in French literally means "DIY," but has come to represent a whole school of thought on cultural syncretism, post colonial identity and an aesthetic of multi-chromatic, multi-textured and multi-historicized object art.

My collection will include original fashion design looks of amorphous silhouettes and textile palettes artfully woven together with textile scraps inspired by the colors and visual patterns of the animations. The textile scraps, quilted together into kinetic tapestries, will be molded into dynamic and assymetrical silhouettes, reflecting much of the asymmetry and dynamic body of the protagonist. The collection will also feature fabric made from renewable fibers such as recycled polyester, hemp embroidered and hand dyed with natural dyes and textures inspired by the animation and Mutu’s earlier work.

One day I hope "ReciclaGEM" is a term that comes to encompass the breadth of meaning which Bricolage does. But in the meantime, I shall begin this journey of hybrid artivism, where I feel more authentic, more human, and more equipped to carry the cause of exploring ethics in fashion for the long haul in a way that is sustainable for other people, animals, the planet, AND myself.

Thank you Wangechi for creating work that inspires me to be more human(e) with myself.

The Afro-Futurist Dietary Vegan who Hand Dyes Silk, Recycled Hemp, and Found Materials with Natural Dyes, inspired by Political and Social Realities and who Believes in Fashion as more an Experiential Joy than a Commercial Practice, who loves to Travel while being Conscious of Material Usage, doesn't sign Petitions but Loves to Spread Love the best Way She Can,

T*

I would love to be in dialogue with you about this idea of hybrid activism. Feel free to comment below, or speak with me in person next Friday February 28 7-10pm at 1 Washington Square Place, NYC (RSVP here: http://gallatin.nyu.edu/utilities/events/2014/02/gallatinfashionshow.html)

Fall 2014 Conversation: Bricolage

 

(RSVP Link)

The next presentation. Stay tuned for a press release revealing this collection's theme. Just note, the theme's title is "Bricolage."

Post NYFW Amazingness: Join us at a Star-Studded Fair Trade Fundraiser

New York Fashion Week has officially come to a close, and I can safely say it has been a fabulous week. While there is always a flurry of activity and stress prior to a fashion show, Nimet Deg, Becky Bavinger, the whole team at the New York Fair Trade Coalition, and Kate Black of Magnifeco.com are AMAZING! And thus Fair Fashion Runway III went swimmingly well. Fashionistas and editors alike, such as Starre Vartan of EcoSalon (amazing article on the collection and event!), and Harriette Cole, formally of many publications include Ebony Magazine, were in the audience, alongside creative directors, fellow designers, art and industry models, and ethical fashion lovers alike. It was such an honor to showcase along such revolutionary, ethical, and majestic (yes, because that’s how I felt when I saw these pieces in person and in particular, with my line!) brands such as Natalie Frigo jewelry, Soko jewelry, not to mention the AMAZING custom makeup designed by Lacey Elliot using makeup from the Body Shop!

And most critically, Kate Black, the founder of Magnifeco.com, a leader, a vanguard, a maverick of her time, opened my collection with a brief introduction on GMOs, the fight we faced in Mexico and are continuing to face here and around the world, and ways to keep that perspective in mind when viewing the pieces. The "conversation" Sin Maíz No Hay Vida began and shall continue. 

(Photo Credits: Galo Delgado and Enrique Martin)

So much to say, but I write today to let you know of ANOTHER amazing ethical fashion event taking place next Thursday September 26th, platforming a fair trade fashion initiative and non profit based here in New York.

Wishwas is a Queens-based non profit organization created to assist immigrant women of limited financial resources in adjusting to living in New York City and train them in vocational practices such as garment and fashion good production to aid in their financial self-sufficiency. Next Thursday, they are hosting a fundraiser for their cause in the beautiful studios of internationally renown fashion designer Naeem Khan and jewelry designer Ranjana Khan. The evening will consist of fashion display of Naeem Khan’s beautiful Fall 2013 collection alongside live performances, cocktails and a silent auction.

Tickets for this star-studded (yes, I used it because that’s the word to use!) event are still available. Support this amazing organization, based here in Queens, assisting lives in meaningful ways, engaging in the revolution of the quotidien and enjoy the utopian glory that fashion offers- glamour, cocktails, celebrities, and the silent joy in knowing that you.are.there.

'Ze tickets are here: http://wishwasfundraiser2013.eventbrite.com

Peace, love, and glamour-activism,

T*

Syncretism by ReciclaGEM...In less than 2 weeks!

So in less than two weeks, I will be presenting Syncretism, the hemispherically friendly, Fall collection of hand dyed, recycled hemp, faux leather, vinyl, natural fiber, syncretic womens/menswear fashion at the Beau Monde Society's inaugural Fashion Envie presentation.

If you follow me on instagram (@reciclagem), you would have seen a sneak peak of the material dimensions to be explored in the collection. But in case you haven't, here's a small, micro taste of what you can expect to see.

The inspiration behind this collection, as further elaborated in my interviews with DZI and Fifth and Water, is syncretic religiosity, Afro Brazilian Candomblé, and the textile and design exploration of premise, "what if human beings functioned more like trees." Imagine, if at every step, our quotidian contact with the earth made it flourish, glow, prosper, sing, and blossom. Imagine if each step disseminated renewable seeds and nutrient rich soil back into the ground that feeds us, nurtures us, keeps us. Imagine...

(Candomblé)

(Alexander McQueen, Eshu collection)

This collection is about imagination and exploration of how the idea of "reciclagem" can expand beyond the upcycling foundations upon which we emerged, but continue into the ways in which recycled fibers and earth conscious material can help to support the vortex of fashion being a renewable vehicle for the earth that created the fashion in the first place. Because without the plants from which our fibers emerged, where would we be?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~5 minute meditation: Stop, think and take a 5 minute break from social media to think about what renewable fashion means to you. Feel free to share below or email directly to info@reciclagem-themovement.com.

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How did that feel? In future posts, I plan to insert that magical 5 minutes because your thoughts, your mental freedom, and your peace of mind are important to me. So often in blogosphere, we are overwhelmed with the endless amount of knowledge available to us, from the single click of a Google search. Integrating meditation into our internet use could offer some wisdom to our ethical fashion musings...

Just a thought :)

But if you would like to join me on Earth Day, April 20th, in the presentation of Syncretism as well as witness the host of other ethical fashion awesomeness that will be displayed by the other incredible designers and the phenomenal production team, here's how to reserve an advanced ticket:

1. Email beaumondesociety@gmail.com with your preference for either a general admission (standing room only) ticket or a VIP ticket (seated, with an amazing, ethical, swag bag)

2. Stop by the Beau Monde Society's Pre-Fashion Envie event this Thursday April 11th to pay cash for your ticket. Location: Le Souk at 510 LaGuardia Place, New York 7:00-9:00. For more info, click here.

3. Get your amazing outfit together :)

4. Show up at the Fashion Envie Show! on Saturday April 20th at 6:30pm to Space on White (in Soho!) at 81 White Street, New York with your ticket confirmed and paid for and enjoy the amazing show!!

5. Come talk to me!!! :)

Looking forward to your thoughts, your meditations, and hopefully seeing many of you soon!

Peace, love and light,

T*

ReciclaGEM Fall/Winter 2012: Occupy54

The first season-based collection of ReciclaGEM. Occupy54. A merging of the revolutionary traditions of Occupy Wall Street and Studio54.

Location: Harlem, NY USA

Open publication - Free publishing - More bamboo

Occupy54: Collection Summary

Occupy 54

Through this collection, I have channelled my experience and connection to 9/11 and the Occupy Movement.

Dresses feature ink jet printed photographs of photos that I took while exploring Ground Zero, as part of my research project, "A New Earth: Americanness Post 9/11" where I interviewed men and women on their relationships to 9/11, whether closely connected or authentically apart.

(Collection images are forthcoming from the show. But if you look closely, you can see these photos within the prints).

 

                                                                   (Photo by Tracy Young Photography)

I went to high school at Friends Seminary in lower Manhattan, about a mile away from the World Trade Center and 9/11/01 was my second day of high school. While I fortunately did not have a personal connection to anyone who was physically harmed or killed, I have vivid memories of the chaos and tragedy that took place as well as most saliently the surge of a very streamlined and exclusive United States-centered, American forced nationalism. Continued conversations since then have propelled me to start a line that seeks to broaden and challenge the notion of an exclusive America into one that is inclusive of the Americas and the diverse global microcosms that have helped to create and form this hemisphere since its beginnings. reciclaGEM, which means recycling in Portuguese, stems from my Brazilian heritage as well as the ways in which the diversity of Brazil truly reflects the diversity of America as a whole. 

All articles, made of wonderfully reneweable but not yet US-produced fibers such as bamboo and hemp, as well as organic cotton and recycled scraps, are one of  a kind conversation pieces meant to challenge American consumption while engaging America in re-defining itself. America equals diversity, a merge of the world in one, the colors, textiles and materials used in this collection expound upon this idea of embracing oneness, and protection of that which is sacred, our environment and our diversity. This collection which I have chosen to call Occupy 54, reflects a merge of Occupy Wall Street meets Studio54; a daring and conscientious mix of recycled fabulousity for one mind, and all people.