"We're carrying the fire" is a line from the film "The Road". In the world of the film, where the climate crisis is extreme, "fire" symbolises the hope of survival and salvation, but it also means that "we" are "arsonists".
Through preliminary research and making a mood board, I constructed a world with a severe climate crisis and imagined clothing demands for people living in that state as design elements like hoods and face masks for protection. Meanwhile, according to the film, seeking hope should be a painstakingly long-term process, so I expressed that through the hikers' clothes. This is reflected in clothing with adjustable sleeves and trouser cuffs in order to facilitate movement, and plenty of storage space required for long journeys. Also, to reinforce the expression, I used earthy colors and worn patchwork approach from the wasteland style. As an art style depicting a post-apocalyptic world, it represents images of desertification, extinction, and disaster, which is the environment in which the clothes are used. In contrast, the overall clothing design is all dark and made from old clothes, but some detailed elements from civilised society and nature, such as lapels, floral motifs, and greenery, are incorporated. They represent the elegance, and natural beauty of the original world, "carrying" them on the body also means "carrying" hope.
Clothing is part of people's lives, it's relevant to every day, it's relevant to the environment, and it's relevant to the climate. So I wanted to express that the climate crisis is not far away from us, and the crisis is reflected in our lives, even on our bodies. With this collection, I want to warn people that we are burning the world down, but we also have hope of saving it at the same time.
