"Be chic, save the world"
- Timothy L. Westbrook

#ECOCHIC
#TheLoraxOfFashion

I make clothing out of trash. Abandoned umbrellas become coats. Disposable contact lens cases become moto jackets. Antiquated audio cassette tape gets woven into chic evening gowns, like the one created for Boston Mayor Michelle Wu for her appearance at the Earthshot Prize gala.  Everything I make comes from something once discarded.  

Just because something gets thrown away doesn’t mean it ever really goes away.  Fast fashion brands put out press releases about their commitment to sustainability but at the end of the day, there’s no way to buy a garment in the modern fashion industry without bringing new forever waste into the world. We can't “upcycle” post-consumer products fast enough to un-suffocate our planet. My creative reuse of expired materials that others would call garbage serves as a model for how industries and consumers alike can reimagine their relationship to waste. 

My work strives to restore the connection between human beings and the materials they clothe themselves in. To imagine a world where we find beauty in our detritus instead of shipping it off to landfills where we never have to think about it again.

By creating elevated clothing and art out of garbage there is an energetic shift from calling a thing trash to identifying its higher potential. In the same way, when people stop dressing the way they think they should, and start dressing in a way that affirms their being, they operate at their highest vibration. This critical exchange becomes healing for the wearer’s relationship with nature and themselves.

I believe positive action can be built into the shopping experience. Every purchase promotes anti-pollution, zero-imact energy production, local economy, and local artistic endeavors. But I’m not perfect either. Long hot showers, take out containers, and immunocompromised-directed carnivorous diet haunt my sustainable pursuits. Stay tuned for mistakes and advances, for blunders and beauty.

xoxo Timothy