From aerial images of melting glaciers on clothing, to geometrical facial recognition maps on models’ faces; menswear label Abasi Rosborough represents the future of fashion with a conscience.
As the second-most polluting industry in the world, fashion has a lot to answer for, and Abasi Rosborough’s cutting edge designs represent a huge step forward for ethically-sourced fashion.
Setting a new standard of sustainability, the label’s contemporary pieces are ethically manufactured from 80% upcycled fabrics and all natural materials. The deadly carbon footprint of fast fashion avoided, thanks to a small batch production method ensuring nothing goes to landfill.
In a call to action: ‘HYPEROBJECT’, the brand’s 2018 Spring/Summer collection features a canvas print of Greenland’s melting glaciers. New York photographer Justin Brice Guariglia took the images during NASA flight missions, in a bid to broaden climate change awareness by showing it in process; a quest that designers Greg Rosborough and Abdul Abasi have in turn brought into a fashion context. Flight jackets, coats, desert shirts, t-shirts and Ankara pants: the collection is modern and superb with a clear message – what you buy matters.
The apocalyptic motif continued into the label’s debut at New York Fashion Week with their Autumn/Winter 2018 collection: ‘Utopia/Dystopia’. Models wore colour-blocked avant-garde staples and geometric facial recognition maps, in a nod to the latest iPhone X feature and the bargain society makes between convenience and privacy for the sake of technology.
Turning the catwalk into a Black Mirror-esque dystopia, the show asked; where is humanity heading: utopia or dystopia?
The paradox of the show’s title was reflected in the clothing: tailored sportswear, neutral colours and an elegant eastern influence, contrasted with deconstructed looks of bright colours and bold prints; the layering, clean lines and functionality that the brand has become known remaining consistent throughout.
Using fashion for social commentary and a mirror in which to illustrate our ever-growing dissociation with nature, the designers’ focus is on eliciting change rather than focusing on narratives of guilt and fear. Speaking to Vice, the duo explained:
‘Despite the dystopian vibes all around us, I do think you can create your own utopia. As an American small business, we try to do that as much as possible.’
Through their sustainable fashion, the visionaries behind Abasi Rosborough are indeed doing just that.
Watch Abasi Rosborough’s video ‘NORTHERN OMENS’, below. The clip features the SS18 Hyperobject / NASA Missions Over Greenland collection done in collaboration with Justin Brice Guariglia. Statistics included are from the Anthropocene Working Group and WWF.
Visit Abasi Rosborough online for more information.
Utopia or Dystopia: where do you think technology is taking us? Do you buy ethical fashion? Comment below!
