ABOUT

Clothing design has historically been implemented as a mechanism to reinforce gender constructs and classism.  Fashion evolves with the culture and can be looked at as an archival survey of the roles people have performed within society throughout time. In its most simplified form wearable material has an immediate function as protection and shelter from varying environmental conditions and within our more privileged societies it has evolved into a conduit for self-expression. As any tool it is transformed by the beholder, dress has been enforced to constrain people into a set gender uniform, alternatively it has also been used to abstract and challenge the way we perceive the individual. In the current times with the aid of an expansive internet medium it's easier than ever to be exposed to many representations of people. Although this seems as a majorly positive phenomenon, it's critical to look at the impact of visibility. The Queer community has had the most mainstream exposure than ever before, empowering many to play with there presentation and stray from conforming to strict gender expectations. Yet, with this visibility it also can create dangerous attention for those that have always been their authentic selves and now are being outed and brought to the limelight  to many ignorant and hateful people. At times it feels impossible to navigate these competing realities. When your physical body can be a trigger for dysphoria, controlling expression through your outerwear can be cathartic but for many it can also jeopardize your safety and livelihood . The lgbtq community has always played a vital role in challenging and inspiring the fashion world. It is an industry that constantly appropriates and steals from artists and is commended for it.

I am transgender. I am gay. I am Non binary. I am queer. I defy what it means to embody gender. I am Other. I am Variant. When I went to vote last election the ballot gave me three options on how to identify : Male, Female, Variant. This was the catalyst for my processing of what it meant to be seen as anything that did not conform to the standard of male or female. This was the first time I ever noticed there being another option. It is progress to be given another choice but this idea of being labeled as variant by a capitalist government also incited a lot of fear and anxiety. Gender varriace ecomapses so much and as I have divulged deeper into my own complexities within my own identity, it has ignited a desire to start creating tangible content that did not currently exist within my world. Variant was born out of the minds of my partner and I, a relationship that taught me to accept my ever transforming physical form and its dissonance from my inner self.  Our backgrounds both as artists and having grown with confusing ideas around our gender presentation have informed the visual language we’ve developed to embellish the recycled materials that make up our wearable art objects. Our mission is to deconstruct the perceptions that fashion has built around gender expression more acutely tackling how gender expression has influenced developing individuality. When I began this project my main purpose was to cultivate warble art objects that were made for queer and Trans bodies. The more energy I’ve put into Variant i've come to realize the importance and relevance this movement is for all bodies and identities. It feel we are entering an age where people want to express themselves and invest and show support to their communities and friends rather than purchasing visual art from corporate galleries.                    

Our mission is to have a complete range in all areas, in price range, style, and size. After all we are so fortunate and privileged to have gotten to a place where we can dress in costumes for no other reason but to express who we are. I hope Variant will become a way for me to give back to the people around me and create pieces that will allow others to feel free to be their authentic selves.