Elena’s SS20 collection is a tribute to her local collaborators past and present as well as a visual poem to the industrial and utilitarian landscape she calls home. The collection features iconic Milwaukee metal, repurposed leather garments from her metal shop, and salvaged ship sails from her mothers shipyard. At the core of Elena’s mission is a denunciation of coastal elitism in the fashion industry and a call for urgency in the democratization of creative capital in underserved artistic communities like her own. Shot in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and in collaboration with locals-only talent “Homecoming” is a testament to the potential of underrepresented creative perspectives in the American fashion narrative. ​

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