HANDPRINT
FOOTPRINT
For this project, in partnership with the sustainable textile manufacturer Renewcell, I developed a look inspired by Native culture and sustainability. Print development and textile treatments were driven both by both sustainable thinking and thematic research, resulting in a laser etching print technique and a natural dye to treat the recycled fabric provided by Renewcell.
Anchored in denim archetypes, the look was designed with the inspiration of the clothes my grandfather wore on the farm working as a tenant farmer in combination with Native American traditional regalia. Inspiration was also taken from Dorethea Lange’s dustbowl images of the 1930s Great Depression for fabric treatments and silhouettes.
‘Handprint’ references the symbol of a red handprint commonly used in the MMIWG movement across the Native American and First Nations communities. This served as the inspiration for the print developed for this fabric, a close up of a family member’s handprint. Whereas ‘Footprint’ references the sustainable aspect of the design.
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About
As a member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, my heritage has always been a source of inspiration, but it has rarely been represented through a positive/non colonial lens within the fashion industry. In my work, I aim to shine light on the beauty of both Indigenous tradition as well as contemporary Native American culture.
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