Under the Sea is a collection that dives deep into the issue of plastic pollution in our waters. In collaboration with the Sealife Centre I was tasked to create a series of digital prints that use found plastic waste, evoke a conversation around this issue and still keep it fashion forward.
For the digital print element I used my own photographs from the Brighton Sealife Centre, which I manipulated and overlayed in Photoshop, giving them a distorted look that you get from watching something through water. Along side this I painted patterns from various tropical fish to tie into the colours from the images which are also used for the digital fabrics.
I incorporated found plastics by heat pressing them onto the designs. I loved this experimental element and being able to play with the shapes and textures it created. I incorporated embroidery into a few of the designs to add further texture and even opted to cut up and quilt one design overlaying plastic carrier bags onto the fabric. This kind of experimental project is one I truly love, not knowing how everything is going to turn out until you’ve given it a go is always the most fun and I find creates new and exciting ideas and looks.
Taking care of our planet is something that means a lot to me and I try to reflect this in my work as much as possible, so this project really meant a lot to me and I will definitely be creating more work like this in the future.
