The Bumper Dress
A non-textile garment using car bumpers woven together; representing experimentation, unconventionality, and working through personal dilemmas by creating art.
How it started
The non-textile is the first creative fashion assignment at MassArt, and the outline is very simple: no fabric. I left class looking for ideas of what to use, and an idea greeted me as soon as I opened the door to my apartment: a car bumper left by an old roommate months before.
I’ve grown up around loose junk and random auto-parts scattered around because my father is a mechanic and as a small child I loved to help him out in his garage. He was always covered in grime and always working on something. I have a lot in common with my dad, and I’m drawn to use many of the same materials he uses in his work, but I struggle with that because I don’t want to be anything like him, especially considering the role he played in my abusive childhood.
Being able to work with auto-parts presented a unique opportunity to reclaim these materials as my own while working through the anger and hurt I felt towards my father, and through this experience accept that mechanical side of myself. When I wasn’t allowed to use the bumper left by my old roommate, I reached out to my dad for advice: he advised me to contact an auto-body shop, who throw away plenty of car bumpers.
And so I rented a truck, picked up three car bumpers from a local auto-body shop, and got to work trying to figure out how to sculpt around the body with these hunks of auto-plastic.
Process
After I got the bumpers, it was time to start manipulating them. I wanted the final piece to be as rough and grimy as possible as a reference to the grime I so heavily associate with my dad, and thankfully it was February and I was able to take the bumpers out into the snow to hammer them apart into large hunks with rough edges. I also worked at bending and binding the bumpers together with duct tape and finally through random weave. I placed different pieces around the body, held them in place with a chair, and random wove the whole piece, adding lines where connection and support was needed.
Me and my trusty hammer
Bending and binding
Curve cemented with random weave
Experiments with piece placement
Chair contraption to hold pieces in place
Front Piece
Front and Back pieces together
Random weave straps for support
Back Supports
Smaller pieces were added for coverage
Some lines use thicker weights to indicate connection points
Weave until solid, reweave loose lines with each wear
Exhibiting the Piece
I’ve been very lucky to have had multiple opportunities to exhibit the Bumper Dress, including:
MassArt Fashion Dept. Photoshoot- Mar. 2019
MassArt Fashion Show Exhibit 2019- May 2019
STYLEWEEK Northeast SEED: Student Design Challenge- Sept. ‘19
Boston Children’s Museum- Oct. 2019
Winning the
SEED: Student Design Challenge
Being able to see this piece walk down a runway was absolutely surreal, especially after months of people asking if it was even possible for it be worn and moved in. I was lucky enough to be assigned an amazing model Livia, and I worked with her and the hair and makeup team to make my vision a reality, which was absolutely surreal and a dream come true in and of itself. To then win the competition was totally unexpected, especially considering the talented designers I was competing against, and I am incredibly grateful to STYLEWEEK Northeast for the opportunity and recognition!
Photography above by Myke Yeager
The entire process of this day was absolutely insane: the prepping of the garment by reweaving, consulting with the model and hair and makeup, transporting this massive thing across state lines, getting Livia into the dress, and the anticipation of opening STYLEWEEK Season 17 was so overwhelming, I’m very grateful to Azur Mele Photography for being backstage and capturing these behind the scenes moments, as they’re definitely my favorite photos from the day.
