Paper Couture

From brown paper, toilet paper and tracing paper to old magazines and newspaper, this series is a nod to the sheer ubiquity of paper in urban life, and an indictment of its wanton waste.

But a little imagination and some assistance - in the form of gum tapes, raffia string, aluminum foil, cling wrap, egg trays, bubble wrap and last but not least, trash bags �" go a long way in transforming rubbish into wearable art, a truly modern artefact, or what we like to call, paper couture.

With paper, you can scrunch it up to create crinkle effects, as well as twist, braid, weave, pleat and fold to achieve astonishing and remarkable shapes, details and texture.

In everyday life, many people treat paper thoughtlessly, mindlessly. There is some poetic justice then that recycling and rescuing used paper demand hard work and incredible thought.  Ashburn Eng and his design assistant spent 2 weeks conceptualizing and experimenting with the designs and materials, and another 364 hours to complete the outfits. Each of the outfits were painstakingly put together through multiple fittings, piece by piece of recycled paper, commanding the attention to detail worthy of fashion’s best.

http://testshootgallery.wordpress.com/2009/10/14/paper-couture/