Artwear: The SOS 2025 Fashion Show

S D Armour

My wish is to inspire all who see my artwork to look again at the old, rejected, so-called “worthless” scraps of our natural and industrial world and to find nourishment, inspiration and a deeper seeing of the art that can be found in the world around us.

 Throughout my life I’ve been torn between a career in science and the creative arts; I constantly seek balance between the two.  My truly frugal nature leads me to making fine crafts and functionality in the things I make.  I am known in the community for my life accessories, toys and gifts that use uniquely repurposed materials

Mia Brillantes

Mia Brillantes is a Somerville native, artist, and rock climber. In 2023, Mia launched a clothing company called Chance No. 2. Sewn from discarded or second-hand clothes, Chance No. 2 pieces include bags, accessories, and clothing items that are fun, functional, and a creative way to give fabric a second chance. According to the United Nations, the global fashion industry currently accounts for more than 10% of the world’s carbon emissions. As a high-schooler, climate change is deeply important to Mia, which is why she chose to use her art as a tool to combat it. She loves working with denim and second-hand clothing because of the unique stories that each piece of fabric brings to the whole. With practical pockets and quirky fabrics, her pieces bring awareness and joy. Mia’s work will be on display and for sale at the Armory during Somerville Open Studios.  She can be reached at mbrillantes@chancenumber2.com.  

Martha Friend

 I am a found object and assemblage artist and for the last ten years have built several very large installations inside and outside my home on Highland Ave. in Somerville, including Sapphire City, Babies Gone Bad,  and Dolls Open a Lampshop. I collect original art, largely from local artists, as well as folk art and interesting kitsch. The inside of my home is a rich display of all these things. I have participated in Open Studios since its inception 25 years ago and will be participating this year as well. I also love to sew, love vintage textiles, and consider myself a fledgling fiber artist.

Lexie Butterfly

Lexie Hofer Griffith is a vintage focused, clown Couturier who works solely with vintage fabrics of the psychedelic persuasion. After much of her childhood was spent playing dress up in her mother’s vintage clothing, Lexie developed an undying love for the history of garments and the stories they tell. She also grew up as an odd size for most produced clothing wearing mostly pants that looked like she was waiting for the flood and tops with sleeves so short they looked as if she borrowed from a younger sibling’s closet. This pet peeve led her to be the self-taught sewing monster that she is today; making custom clothes for all body types and genders. This year, Lexie has enlisted the help of her Victorian goth best friend, Victoria, in creating a 5 look collection inspired by the 1960’s Free Speech Movement and iconic vintage Americana novelties.

Lexie also owns 2 brick and mortar stores: A vintage clothing shop at Bow Market (suite 36) called Lexie Butterfly Vintage and a multivendor marketplace of small businesses called Chartreuse Microbus Collective inside Cafe Zing. (lexiebutterflyvintage.com)

Levon Delmonico

I’m a sixteen-year-old aspiring fashion designer and student at Somerville highschool. I’ve been making clothes for just over a year now. I’m a part of my school’s fashion club and I led the costumes crew for two of my school’s theatre productions. I’m still working on truly finding my style but I find myself inspired by parts of American vintage, army surplus, street wear, and overall the fashion scene at the moment. I strive to just create with reused and recycled materials as you’ll see in my work.

Scope Apparel

Scope Apparel aims to empower and educate, promoting critical thinking, self determination and building community by creating outstanding, original, and quality clothing.

Established in July 2010 as Scope Urban Apparel, Scope Apparel is a Boston based Apparel Brand, Music Label and Entertainment Company propelled by a network of artists, entrepreneurs, hustlers and like minds who continue to develop the brand and drive the dream.

Jessamy Shay Kilcollins

Jessamy Shay Kilcollins is a textile artist, educator, and sustainable fashion designer interested in exploring color, texture, and sustainability through upcycling and visible mending.  She uses almost exclusively second hand textiles, and integrates traditional handcraft processes like embroidery, applique, and darning to interact thoughtfully and intentionally with their innate histories. By utilizing materials that might otherwise end up in a landfill, along with time consuming handcraft techniques, her work interrogates the roles of consumerism and rapid consumption in modern society. Part of her mission is to educate others about the importance of textile repair and reuse, and she has taught mending cultural institutions in the Boston area including Harvard Art Museums, Patagonia, and The Eliot School of Fine and Applied Arts. She also offers garment repair and upcycling services to the general public. Jessamy holds a BFA in Fibers and a Certificate in Fashion Design from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. In January 2020, she was one of eight designers from the Northeast selected to participate in a sustainable fashion design competition called Project Upcycle, and was awarded second place for her gala look sewed from repurposed materials. She lives and works in Somerville, MA.

Grace Madonna

My name is Grace Madonna (they/them). I’m a multimedia artist who primarily creates using photography, but I’m also a passionate sewist, painter, illustrator, writer, and mixed media sculptor. I often blend these mediums as a means of accessing the ideal forms of expression from each to realize my desired outcome. My inspiration primarily draws from my personal experiences with mental health struggles, painful interpersonal relationships, a complicated relationship with gender, social expectations, the female body, the oppressive nature of capitalism, chronic illness and disability, and being one of the odd ones out. I’m also an aspiring psychedelic-assisted trauma therapist. The intersection of my artistic identity and interest in psychology define the vast majority of my life and are inseparable through my creative process and resulting works.

My overarching goals with my art always involve creating for the sake of bringing a vision to life, however deep the meaning might be, but they’re also to channel my emotions through healthy outlets that leave me feeling proud on the other side of pain and to increase awareness around many of these struggles that extend far past my personal experiences. I hope to help others who share aspects of my experiences feel seen while simultaneously giving them a tangible creation to share with others in their lives that they can use to say, “This. This is what I go through. This is how it feels.” So many of these experiences can feel lonely in a way that is soul-crushing. I’ve often found myself alone with only my art to comfort me through suffering and it has saved me time and time again. If I can extend that hand to others, I always will. 

Emma Fritschel

Emma Fritschel weaves raw material into worlds of pattern and geometric abstraction – generating meaning and metaphor from the simplest of materials. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, she grew up in the heart of Davis Square and has been managing a curated vintage clothing store in Cambridge for the past three years. There she developed the ability to consider material and understand its full potential. A button is a button, a collar is a collar, a bra strap is a bra strap, because the powers that be deemed it so. For Ms. Fritschel, a t-shirt is never just a t-shirt. 

Eleanor Ramsay

Eleanor Ramsay’s artistic background includes a career in graphic art, technology, and theater production. She is currently designing bold repeat patterns and large digital illustrations for fabric and other substrates. Drawing inspiration from the intricate beauty of natural forms, real and imagined, designs combine hand drawn illustrations, classic folk motifs, and abstract patterns, woven together using traditional materials and digital creative tools. 

This year’s Artwear creations feature designs and characters that represent the delicate role we share with the universe and the debt we owe each other to wake up, honor life, and protect freedom for all beings so life can flourish. There are those who think everything can be bought and sold and we must remain diligent to prove them wrong. The cosmos expands, the earth provides, and flowers bloom in a riot of color, with or without us. Let’s rage against the grey with paisley and sparkles and keep the darkness from stealing our collective joy while we can. 

Website: elramsay.com

Consuelo Perez

Consuelo Perez is a visionary fashion designer whose work combines historical elegance with a modern, sustainable twist. Drawing inspiration from the opulence of Marie Antoinette’s court, Consuelo reimagines the extravagant style of the 18th century through innovative designs crafted from recycled materials. Her unique approach to fashion not only pays homage to the past but also champions environmental responsibility, proving that luxury and sustainability can coexist. Consuelo’s collections are a fusion of art, history, and conscience, creating timeless pieces that make a bold statement both aesthetically and ethically.

Blue Flame Leather (Stephanie Shields)

I come from a long line of makers and have been making things since I was a small child as a form of self expression. My mother is a quilter and a painter while my father was a tool and die maker who made black powder rifles and other guns and knives. I started hand sewing when I was 5 and made my mom a felt wallet shaped like a frog when I was 8. I learned to sew with a machine when I was 17 and started making costumes for sale when I was 21. I began working with leather when I was about 24 because I enjoyed the texture and quality of such a robust material. I picked up forging and other metal work skills about ten years ago and recently began learning to block felt hats. Now that I am 51, I like to use my various skills together, and I’m always interested in learning something new.

I have taught leathercraft, basic sewing and hand embroidery classes at maker spaces, clubs and conventions. I enjoy teaching almost as much as I enjoy making customers happy with my work.

I am inspired by nature, color, music and films. I love plants and trees from my experience being an indoor and outdoor gardener. I enjoy fashion very much and this is why I am participating in ArtWear to bring my unique perspective and collection of interests to the runway.