Brave New World: Freedom During a Global Pandemic

‘Brave New World’ serves as a reminder of our freedoms and confinement during a global pandemic, where ageless nature is contrasted by the masks that veil us from it.

20 April 2020

Dear Subvrt Mag team,

The week before lockdown in Paris, we heard whispers of illness and isolation. A group of friends would tell us they had the flu and couldn’t make dinner reservations, then another needed to lay in bed until their head clears.

This continued well into the government-sanctioned “lockdown” due to a new “global pandemic”. Before this, a group of us drove to an abandoned castle just outside of Paris to shoot our reimagining of Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’. I’ve always felt sceptical of the way our politicians handle a global crisis, and was inspired by the play’s representations of power, control and the metaphorical impacts of a natural disaster. At the time, we had no idea how close we would be to the reawakening of this story.

‘Brave New World’ highlights the naive ratification we have for political power, and the state of control that it brings. Speculating the after-effects of mass extinction, this series measures our betrayal of mother nature in a not so distant future. Where earth and destruction act as powerful and unpredictable reminders of the turbulence in our lives, reinforcing the exotic isolation of the island. As implanted social structures efface the past and all its legacies, only the Brave are left to resurrect our forgotten humanity.

The coronavirus pandemic has taught us that above all, we must act in unison, to operate as an organism and be aware of one another. 2020 has seen the deconstruction of society beyond anything we’ve experienced before, and our best is no longer enough. We’re urging today’s fashion industry to disinvest from capital growth, and reinvest in social and environmental prosperity.

* Calling to action the need for more sustainable practices throughout the supply chain, this look is crafted entirely from Levi Strauss & Co. jean remnants. Using crochet, patchwork and exposed finishes, repurposed denim is cut and sewn using zero-waste methods, with a rawness that parallels our environment.

Kindest,

Jordana Madeleine