Martina Cox

12/16/19 • 42 min

From art to fashion and vice versa

Martina Cox took a break from art university and opened a second-hand-shop out of her apartment. That`s when she also began to alter garments. Half a year later, she took her new and beloved approach in fashion and went back with it to art school. Her senior thesis exhibition was seen by many and the right people: only one year later she works independently as a fashion maker with a clear artistic touch. I loved Martina ́s honesty and the laugther we shared throughout the whole conversation. We talked about partying in Berlin and her italian grandmother - both sources of her passion for fashion - moreover about the first time she presented fashion in art school (surprising) and her love for detail (inspiring).

From art to fashion and vice versa

Previous Episode

Mikaila Brown

Talking to a Fashion Anthropologist

Mikaila Brown created her own businessmodel combining her PhD in anthroplogy and her love for fashion: Mikaila Brown is a fashion anthroplogist. In other words, in my words: For Mikailas work with fashion "why" comes before "wow". She is also the creator of "Sidewalk Safaris", a city tour which she describes intriguingly: "We are going to disco deep dive into Harlem, using fashion as ur lense." This walk is to get to know Harlem as the starting point of black fashion in America as much as today`s Harlem and the importance of community in keeping small and diverse businesses. When I met Michala, she was in the middle of launching similar tours in Atlanta and LA. By the end of next year she wants to have them in ten american cities. This talk is recorded in a café in Harlem. We are sitting outside, next to a busy street. It ́s the last stop of our preceding "Sidewalk Safari" and we still are surprisingly energized. Mikailas power is contagius! I decided to publish this conversation, even if the background sounds try to overtake. Meeting Mikaila was an encounter I will never forget, but listen to her nuanced and vibrant speech yourself!

Next Episode

Janelle Abbott

Entangling arts and fashion

I got to know Janelle Abbott first as one part of the collaborative duo "Femail". Here she, together with Camilla Carper, creates beautiful and complex fashion, using upcycling. Since Janelle lives in Seattle and Camilla in Los Angeles, they use snail mail, sending back and forth their pieces, until they are ready. I fell in love with their work through an article about upcycling on fashionista.com. Luckily they hosted a workshop in NYC while I was in town - a collective refashioning session - sure that I went there ! The interview is recorded via Skype, because Janelle was already back in Seattle. Janelle and me talk about Femail, but also about her very own work, which includes a beautiful project called "Wardrobe Therapy", about seeing and living live as a Gesamtkunstwerk and why Lady Gaga ended up buying a dress that have been sweatpants of her dad before.