Katie Frazee_Throne_04
“Throne”
Found clothing and machine-sewn thread glued onto a wooden frame, 3.5 x 3 x 7.5 feet
This piece was inspired by my newfound awareness of sustainability in the fashion industry. Clothing pollution accounts for 10 percent of all global pollution, above gas and oil. This massive industry has disastrous effects on the environment, especially due to the long life cycle of the manufacturing process. Each step involves transportation, most of which is international, to economically unstable countries. Different pieces of clothing require varying manufacturing processes, increasing waste. This industry uses energy, fuel, water, polluting chemicals and hazardous fibres, creating tons of non-biodegradable materials. It turns out that hazardous sweatshops are not just in other countries, but also in the U.S., made up of undocumented immigrants who receive far below minimum wage and are paid per piece of clothing, not hourly. Clothing waste contributes to large sums of waste that the U.S. sells to developing countries, which manage 70 percent of plastic waste. Regardless of whether the exploitation is domestic, the United States is a primary contributor to global exploitation and waste in the fashion industry.
I cut up found clothing, separating zippers, buttons, drawstrings and clothing tags to downgrade and dethrone the items from their normally glorified state, on people and in stores. My hope is that this piece will inspire people to think about each step of the manufacturing process. I machine-sewed random lines of thread to demonstrate the individual process of sewing, apart from its functionality. The mass of the chair signifies the unwavering power and control of capitalism and its effects on humans and the environment.
I utilized the sewing aspect of the sewing machine, as I now feel comfortable with machine sewing for the first time. I am still figuring out how to program the embroidery aspect of the machine.
Katie Frazee_Throne_04
“Throne”
Found clothing and machine-sewn thread glued onto a wooden frame, 3.5 x 3 x 7.5 feet
This piece was inspired by my newfound awareness of sustainability in the fashion industry. Clothing pollution accounts for 10 percent of all global pollution, above gas and oil. This massive industry has disastrous effects on the environment, especially due to the long life cycle of the manufacturing process. Each step involves transportation, most of which is international, to economically unstable countries. Different pieces of clothing require varying manufacturing processes, increasing waste. This industry uses energy, fuel, water, polluting chemicals and hazardous fibres, creating tons of non-biodegradable materials. It turns out that hazardous sweatshops are not just in other countries, but also in the U.S., made up of undocumented immigrants who receive far below minimum wage and are paid per piece of clothing, not hourly. Clothing waste contributes to large sums of waste that the U.S. sells to developing countries, which manage 70 percent of plastic waste. Regardless of whether the exploitation is domestic, the United States is a primary contributor to global exploitation and waste in the fashion industry.
I cut up found clothing, separating zippers, buttons, drawstrings and clothing tags to downgrade and dethrone the items from their normally glorified state, on people and in stores. My hope is that this piece will inspire people to think about each step of the manufacturing process. I machine-sewed random lines of thread to demonstrate the individual process of sewing, apart from its functionality. The mass of the chair signifies the unwavering power and control of capitalism and its effects on humans and the environment.
I utilized the sewing aspect of the sewing machine, as I now feel comfortable with machine sewing for the first time. I am still figuring out how to program the embroidery aspect of the machine.