Beauty After Destruction

Category: Apparel

My entry for this leather competition is a deeply personal and culturally resonant collection that tells the untold story of the 14-year Liberian Civil War. As someone of Liberian and Lebanese heritage, the profound and often parallel experiences of war and its aftermath have been central parables I've grappled with my entire life. Through these pieces, I aim to illuminate the significant effects of Western colonization, the remarkable beauty that emerges after destruction, and the immense power women hold to rebuild societies. This collection is a testament to resilience, expressed through innovative leather manipulation and design. The centerpiece is a transparent leather top, a modern interpretation of traditional skin manipulation. Inspired by the scarification practices of my family's Liberian tribe, I sought to modernize this ancient art form and make it universally understood. To achieve this, I collaborated with a fellow artist, Mimi Massoumi, who designed the tattoo for the transparent leather, skillfully blending Liberian symbols with a contemporary cyber sigilistic style. This piece not only showcases the unique qualities of transparent leather but also represents a dialogue between past and present, tradition and modernity, on the body. Complementing the top, the pants feature a distinctive pin-tucking manipulation that I discovered creates an entirely different effect on leather than on fabric. This technique allowed me to sculpt the material in new ways, adding textural depth and visual intrigue. Furthermore, I incorporated hardware such as grommets to construct several individual leather pieces, meticulously connecting them together with leather string. This intricate assembly not only highlights my technical skill but also symbolizes the fragmented yet ultimately reconnected aspects of a society healing and rebuilding. Each element of this collection is a narrative stitch in the fabric of Liberia's history and its enduring spirit, informed by my own bicultural perspective on conflict and renewal.