Trashion
Encyclopedia
Trashion is a term for art, jewelry, fashion and objects for the home created from used, thrown-out, found and repurposed elements. The term was first coined in New Zealand
in 2004 and gained in usage through 2005.
Initially trashion was used to describe art-couture
costume usually linked to contests or fashion shows; however, as recycling and 'green' fashion become more prevalent, trashion has taken a turn for the more wearable. The term is now widely used in creative circles to describe any wearable item or accessory that is constructed using all or part materials that have been recycled, including clothing that has been thrifted and reconditioned.
and innovation
. Making traditional objects out of recycled materials can be trashion, as can making avant-garde fashion from cast-offs or junk. It springs from a desire to make the best use of limited resources. Trashion is similar to upcycling
and refashion, although it began with specific fashion aspirations. Like upcycling, trashion generates items that are valued again, but these may be low-cost or high-cost, perhaps depending on the skill of the artist.
In the 1990s, American artist Ann Wizer began using plastic waste in her wearable art. Working in the Philippines, and titling her line the 'Virus Project,' Wizer created a set of costumes made entirely from post consumer plastic waste to celebrate Earth Day
. The first plastic packaging tote bags were accessories to these costumes. There are now numerous small scale poverty intervention
projects throughout Southeast Asia in the process of creating similar trashion accessories and other fashion and homeware items. This includes the XSProject, a charity originally founded by Wizer and based in Jakarta
.
In 2006 a recycle fashion brand called Plan B was founded in Finland as a fashion sub-label for Helsinki Metropolitan Area Reuse Centre Ltd (Finnish. Kierrätyskeskus). The label called their refashioned garments and re-designed furniture trashion.
In 2006, Wizer's friend Julia Genatossio launched Monsoon Vermont, a trashion design house. The company designs items such as umbrellas, shower curtains and backpacks which are made from Jakarta's scavenged trash. Unlike the XSProject, Monsoon Vermont is a for-profit venture.
The Trashion movement took off in New York City in late 2004, early 2005 through underground parties on the lower east side of Manhattan at a club called Plan B. Trashion was part of the fashion of Urban Gypsy Circus, which is an interactive art party thrown by multi-media artist Miz Metro. These parties exhibited art made out of recycled materials and included monthly "TRASHION FACEOFFS" where 2 designers would compete to be the "TRASHION QUEEN". This led to Matthew Namer & Miz Metro curating the TRASHION Art show at Gallery 151 on exhibit during the summer of 2009 on the lower east side of Manhattan.
Trashion is also regarded as a sub-gendre for DIY fashion scene as a form of creation that uses not only trash/junk but used and secondhand materials instead of new ones to create and refashion new garments and accessories.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
in 2004 and gained in usage through 2005.
Initially trashion was used to describe art-couture
Haute couture
Haute couture refers to the creation of exclusive custom-fitted clothing. Haute couture is made to order for a specific customer, and it is usually made from high-quality, expensive fabric and sewn with extreme attention to detail and finished by the most experienced and capable seamstresses,...
costume usually linked to contests or fashion shows; however, as recycling and 'green' fashion become more prevalent, trashion has taken a turn for the more wearable. The term is now widely used in creative circles to describe any wearable item or accessory that is constructed using all or part materials that have been recycled, including clothing that has been thrifted and reconditioned.
Philosophy
Trashion is a philosophy and an ethic encompassing environmentalismEnvironmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
and innovation
Innovation
Innovation is the creation of better or more effective products, processes, technologies, or ideas that are accepted by markets, governments, and society...
. Making traditional objects out of recycled materials can be trashion, as can making avant-garde fashion from cast-offs or junk. It springs from a desire to make the best use of limited resources. Trashion is similar to upcycling
Upcycling
Upcycling is the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value....
and refashion, although it began with specific fashion aspirations. Like upcycling, trashion generates items that are valued again, but these may be low-cost or high-cost, perhaps depending on the skill of the artist.
History
Indigenous people throughout the world have used salvaged materials to create new objects for an indeterminate number of years. Africans have made bags from rice and juice packets, Haitians have made sculptural jewelry from old oil cans, and American settlers have made quilts and rugs from cast-off clothing and feed sacks. People were making something from nothing long before the word "trashion" was coined.In the 1990s, American artist Ann Wizer began using plastic waste in her wearable art. Working in the Philippines, and titling her line the 'Virus Project,' Wizer created a set of costumes made entirely from post consumer plastic waste to celebrate Earth Day
Earth Day
Earth Day is a day that is intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's natural environment. The name and concept of Earth Day was allegedly pioneered by John McConnell in 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco. The first Proclamation of Earth Day was by San Francisco, the...
. The first plastic packaging tote bags were accessories to these costumes. There are now numerous small scale poverty intervention
Poverty reduction
Poverty is the state of human beings who are poor. That is, they have little or no material means of surviving—little or no food, shelter, clothes, healthcare, education, and other physical means of living and improving one's life....
projects throughout Southeast Asia in the process of creating similar trashion accessories and other fashion and homeware items. This includes the XSProject, a charity originally founded by Wizer and based in Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
.
In 2006 a recycle fashion brand called Plan B was founded in Finland as a fashion sub-label for Helsinki Metropolitan Area Reuse Centre Ltd (Finnish. Kierrätyskeskus). The label called their refashioned garments and re-designed furniture trashion.
In 2006, Wizer's friend Julia Genatossio launched Monsoon Vermont, a trashion design house. The company designs items such as umbrellas, shower curtains and backpacks which are made from Jakarta's scavenged trash. Unlike the XSProject, Monsoon Vermont is a for-profit venture.
See also
- UpcyclingUpcyclingUpcycling is the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value....
The Trashion movement took off in New York City in late 2004, early 2005 through underground parties on the lower east side of Manhattan at a club called Plan B. Trashion was part of the fashion of Urban Gypsy Circus, which is an interactive art party thrown by multi-media artist Miz Metro. These parties exhibited art made out of recycled materials and included monthly "TRASHION FACEOFFS" where 2 designers would compete to be the "TRASHION QUEEN". This led to Matthew Namer & Miz Metro curating the TRASHION Art show at Gallery 151 on exhibit during the summer of 2009 on the lower east side of Manhattan.
- Refashion
Trashion is also regarded as a sub-gendre for DIY fashion scene as a form of creation that uses not only trash/junk but used and secondhand materials instead of new ones to create and refashion new garments and accessories.