Artist's Statement

I think sustainable fashion means do-it-yourself; to forego fast fashion completely and pave your own way. Thrift, mend, upcycle, swap, rent, or shop independent designers - there is a level of freedom that comes from being able to make your own clothes and not relying on buying new. I worked as a sewing instructor for many years. I would always tell people after I taught them to sew, "Now that you can sew, no one can tell you what to do anymore."

There's a Yiddish story called, "Joseph Had a Little Overcoat," about a man named Joseph who owned a striped coat. When it got old he sewed it into a jacket, and then into a vest, and so on and so forth until it was only a button. The moral of the story is, "you can always make something from nothing." But I think there's another moral to this story - that when you think outside the box, you can make something uniquely you. Sustainable fashion to me means independence, freedom, diy, punk, and anti-capitalism.