It’s easy for consumers to toss their excess
product in the bin and never be faced with
its accumulation. In 2013, statistics by Eurostat
found that in the European Union each
individual generated an outrageous amount
of packaging waste - roughly 157 kgs (346
lbs.). The consumptive mentality of society has
become far too aggressive, with increasing
demands for more product than can be
produced by a limited planet.
“When I moved to Los Angeles, I was
appalled at the amount of rubbish washing
up on the beaches,” said DeBris, whose name
is an intentional play on “debris”. After moving
to Australia, she realized that polluted beaches
were a “worldwide problem.” DeBris and
Robson remind viewers that waste, such as
plastic, can never be broken down naturally;
however, it can be sublimated.
Converging trash and fashion, DeBris
created the innovative and sustainable
art of “trashion”, incorporating waste into
high-end clothing designs to impress
the possibilities of reusability. “It’s really
quite simple,” DeBris told INSPADES while
explaining the message behind her work,
“We need to drastically reduce the amount
of single-use plastic we consume.”
Designing elaborate gowns from Styrofoam
food containers and corsets from plastic cutlery
and straws, DeBris’ trashion is surprisingly
edgy, taking the “Paper Bag Princess” image
to a whole new level.
“I was trained as a graphic designer, so
getting my hands dirty has been tremendously
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