liya liu

I designed my collection, L’indefini-Trash, to resemble the characteristics of the omni-present trash bags of New York City. The fashion industry in New York creates waste, which is then emptied onto the street and absorbed into the city’s landscape. Garbage has a negative connotation because it symbolizes the wasteful behavior of humans. I wanted to make my garments resemble trash without being mistaken for trash, so I created a statement piece in my collection with the message, “This is not trash do not throw away,” embroidered on it. I put myself into a trash bag to evoke a feeling of invisibility and to get a sense of what it was like to be trash. My loose silhouettes camouflage the body, similarly to how trash bags camouflage the waste the city produces. I draped real trash bags on a model, transforming them into wearable garments. I collected scrap materials from daily life as well as paper, lace, tulle, and laundry tags to sew onto the garment to give it a more authentic feel. www.liyaliu.com .