In World 190, the 1970 Earth Day movement resonated with Singaporeans, due to the rise of industrialization and deforestation within our country. A subculture named eco-anarchy emerged, the community embraces the innate human desire to connect and care for the environment through fashion, using their personal style to disrupt and rebel against government structures and corporations who are complicit to the exploitation of the earth. Over time, the mainstream fashion conversation shifted to a juxtaposition of anti-fashion and sustainability, away from capitalistic ideals and consumerism.
Inspired by Singapore’s heritage trees, Ponni’s collection juxtaposes punk aesthetics with nature. Through elements of scale, impressionist techniques and saturated colors, the garments move the focus away from the contours of the body and to a mutual understanding of fashion and the environment where the wearer is a moving, striking embodiment of nature.
Meanwhile, He Qi, Zoey, and Calista’s photoshoot depicts an hyper-exaggerated alternate reality where a community has embraced their innate desire to reconnect with earth. They live in symbiosis with the environment, showing their respect for the earth through their unique rituals and practices, adopting nature as an extension of their human identities.
This Exploration was contributed by Calista Chong, Koh He Qi, Zoey Neo and Ponni Ashok (located in Singapore and India), developed from a World contributed by this group, using a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International licence which allows others to share and adapt the work in any medium and for any purpose, providing that they credit the authors and share their material using the same Creative Commons licence.
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