Studio: Deconstruct/Reconstruct Sustainability Project

For studio class this semester we had to create a sustainable garment out of vintage or second hand garments. The goal was to use 100% of the materials to create an upcycled clothing piece. As I hate the crunchy patchwork style that is commonly associated with reconstructing second-hand clothing I knew I needed to do something that directly spoke to my own aesthetic. This led me to conceptualizing the idea of using unsustainable fabrics to design fetishwear! The fabrics used to create fetishwear are typically quite bad for the environment and the idea of 'sustainability'.

Over 33 million of tons of PVC is produced annually and it emits toxic compounds from manufacture to disposal. The shiny lovely durability it boasts is unfortunately also its downfall-> It is not biodegradable or degradable, which means all the PVC that gets dumped in landfills either just sits there for decades.. Or it is burned and releases toxic fumes like hydrogren chloride gas and dioxin :/ I knew I wanted to use PVC garments for this project for just this reason.

My first order of business was to find some interesting PVC material and I immediately thought of children's raincoats. They had fun patterns and didn't have excessive amounts of material or lining! I picked up three coats and opted for this Mickey Mouse version because it reminded me of my childhood adventures in Disneyland :) From there I also knew I wanted to make a corset so I found a kilt in my closet that I didn't mind parting with that would work for the lining.

It was a huge amount of work but I was very happy with what I produced. I started with 651.5 grams of fabric from my garments which included the weights of all extra embellishments that were needed, such as the boning and eyelets. And *drumroll* I ended up being able to use 100% of the original garments! I even saved the thread from the original constructions.. I swear, there was method to my madness! lol The fruits of my labor are posted below. I constructed an underbust corset, Minnie ears, a pair of spats, a purse, and a little neck tie :)

The construction process was VERY long and painstaking and contains many pictures! For this reason, I'm not posting it directly here. If you'd like to read more about my adventures click below!

Toronto Underground Cinema's Tales From the Underground

This was a project I was involved with back in July 2010. The Boys at Toronto Underground Cinema decided to create a three short films for Edgar Wright's The Wright Stuff which happened the first weekend of August 2010. For those of you that don't know what that is, Edgar frequently programs series of film screenings in various theatres around North America and the UK, films that have inspired him throughout his life. TUC hosted his latest Toronto event which was in honor of his newest film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World being released that same week.

I was the costume designer for this project which was so much fun! The second film was particularly costume intensive and the one  I spent all my time on. Part 2 was inspired by the 1980's film Flash Gordon, one that I love particularly because of the campy costumes and character design :) I was hoping to get some detailed construction shots but unfortunately that hasn't happened yet so I'm posting some shots the boys took on set!

For Alex's costume I was inspired by Prince Vultan, who was the prince of the bird-like Hawkmen in the film. I created a leather breastplate with shoulder guards and matching leather bracers. I don't have a shot of the back but there were two buckled straps going from the shoulders that created a harness with two horizontal buckled straps across the back. Additionally, I got a set of baby black angel wings that tied to the back harness and a viking hat.

Photo Credit: TM 2010 Toronto Underground Cinema. All Rights Reserved.

Evil Emperor Dark Nigellus was kept in the theme of Flash Gordon's villain, Emperor Ming the Merciless. I created a long hooded cloak from red satin and Nigel accessorized with copious amounts of eyeliner and faux facial hair! 

Photo Credit: TM 2010 Toronto Underground Cinema. All Rights Reserved.

The love interest in this mini-epic was Belinda played by Christine. I was inspired by Ming's daughter in the film, Princess Aura and her memorable gold costume. This costume was all about the bling so I picked up some vintage antique white lace with beading/sequins and repurposed it for the bra portion of the costume. I created gold beaded/sequined shoulder pads that had loops to attach them to the bra strap which I also added gold trim to. The skirt was a wrap with a thick gold elastic band (that was a really big pain to find!) and an interlocking metal buckle. I also picked up some strands of clear seed beads for a necklace and a Celtic knot elastic headband.  

Photo Credit: TM 2010 Toronto Underground Cinema. All Rights Reserved.

The last costume was for Charlie and inspired by Flash Gordon himself. I created a t-shirt from scratch, adding the contrasting red arm and sleeve ribbing. I then screened the FLASH logo on the chest and the lightning bold on the back. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of it but you can check it out in the film below! :)