*DISCLAIMER — this episode features stories connected to eating disorders and sexual abuse.
Episode 318 features guests Francisco Alcazar, a zero waste designer based in Los Angeles, California, alongside Ella Wiznia, the founder and designer of Series NY.
Using his 25 years experience as a structural engineer, Francisco is leading the movement that promotes circularity in fashion, and expanding these principles to other disciplines, whilst celebrating the material stories of each textile and the individuality they represent. A New York based brand of ethically made genderless clothing and accessories, Series NY makes every piece in NY in partnership with skilled artisans who set their own rates using only pre-existing and sustainable materials.
“What I like about upcycling is the freedom that it gives you. When you’re upcycling, you actually remix, rework, reuse. And in the process of doing that, the power is back to you. What I mean by that is when we go to a secondhand shop, all the clothes there are mixed up. You have the power to choose — there is no trend, there is no fashion. And the good thing is it’s hard because you have to deal with your inner ‘what you actually like’. And some people follow trends because the process of learning about you is hard. It’s easy to just conform and follow trends, you know, you go to magazines and copy a trend. You don’t have to actually learn about yourself anymore.” -Francisco
“Fashion kind of seems to be one of the only forms of art that is quote unquote gendered in most peoples’ minds. I mean, you don’t go into an art gallery and say ‘oh no, this is for men; no, that piece is for a girl’ — you know, it’s just not how it’s done. Or architecture — ‘no, this building was for this these types of people’. We’re all able to experience them how we want.” -Ella
MARCH THEME —
Acknowledging The Confines of Gender & The Folks Disrupting Stereotypes
The fashion industry can often be described as frivolous with labels, stereotypes and binaries boxing us in – telling us how we need to dress and what identities are deemed quote unquote ‘acceptable’, which can create spaces that are harmful, toxic and void of any sort of individuality and uniqueness – it can often be a place where difference in not celebrated but rather hidden.
This week, our incredible guests share the power that upcycling has in being a paintbrush to the art you wish to create and see in the world - a world where the gender binary is challenged, where we go against ultra fashion trends, and have the permission to dress freely without societal bias and prejudice. We hear how pain can be the source of our purpose, and how textiles and materials are the vehicle in this journey of pride, play and personal empowerment.
We explore the origins of gender-based crafts, the passing over of traditional skills and techniques, and how our guests are challenging the confines of gender stereotypes through reimagining materiality.
Links from the conversation:
Lynden B. Miller (artist that Ella mentions)
Fran’s Website
Series NY Website
Follow Francisco on Instagram
Follow Series NY on Instagram
S03 Episode 120 | THR3EFOLD, SOURCING ETHICAL FACTORIES + LOOKING BEYOND TRANSPARENCY
S03 Episode 119 | STATE OF FASHION + SEARCHING FOR THE NEW LUXURY
S03 Episode 118 | FIBERSHED + REGENERATIVE TEXTILE SYSTEMS
S03 Episode 117 | INDUSTRY OF ALL NATIONS + THE IDENTITY OF PRODUCTS
S03 Episode 116 | MARA HOFFMAN ROUND 2, AN UPDATE ON SUSTAINABILITY, GROWTH + EVOLUTION
S03 Episode 115 | OLORI + THE DIVINE RIGHT OF QUEENS
S03 Episode 114 | MODERN MACRAME
S03 Episode 113 | RESONANCE + CONNECTING ART WITH COMMERCE
S03 Episode 112 | NEO•THREAD, ONE-OF-A-KIND GEMS + COOL GIRLS CARE
S03 Episode 111 | ADITI MAYER, ADIMAY + REVOLUTION WASHING
S03 Episode 110 | BUY GOOD FEEL GOOD + ELEVATING ACCESS FOR SHOPPERS AND BRANDS
S03 Episode 109 | FINERY + MAKING USE OF THE WARDROBE YOU ALREADY HAVE
S03 Episode 108 | G-STAR RAW + THE MOST SUSTAINABLE JEANS EVER
S03 Episode 107 | SHOP GOOD + INTENTIONS FOR WELLNESS
S03 Episode 106 | CRAFTIVISTS + THE ART OF GENTLE PROTEST
S03 Episode 105 | THE CORDES FOUNDATION + SUPPLY CHAIN STORIES
S02 Episode 104 | WOOLN + GRANDMAS IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN
S02 Episode 103 | WHAT IS BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY + THE SOCIAL IMPACT ECONOMY
S02 Episode 102 | MELANIN & SUSTAINABLE STYLE + ETHICAL FASHION AS A PRIVILEGED WHITE GIRL THING
S02 Episode 101 | BECKY EARLEY + CIRCULAR DESIGN
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