Against The Tide

If you could raise awareness about a particular cause, what would it be?
I’m passionate about going zero waste and I try to cut down wherever I can—I only use shampoo once a week, I’m trying to grow a home garden, and I try to voice out my own environmental concerns.

How would you describe your sense of style?
I tend to be a maximalist when it comes to fashion, which is a struggle to accept and balance with my growing awareness of environmental concerns. On the one hand, there’s the need to reduce waste, and on the other hand there’s my desire to express myself through fashion.

So how do you come to terms with this internal struggle?
I guess it’s a continuous learning process: is sustainability just about not using anything? No matter what, there will always be the need to create new items, and no matter how you produce it, you’ll create waste because you’re taking up resources. So there’s a struggle where I have to learn to come to terms with my own interpretation of sustainability. To me, it’s about minimising in whichever area I can and maximising my usage for the products I do buy.

You dabble in a bit of home gardening too—tell us a little more.
It started well but now it’s tough lately because a mouse has been eating through our plants (laughs). My kale, spinach, and coriander plants have all been eaten. We haven’t managed to grow enough to cook a full meal with our own produce, but we’re working towards it.

Is there a personal project you’re currently working on?
It’s still up in the air but I’m hoping to be a part of an exhibition in Japan. It’s part of a bigger biennale, and the work I’ll be presenting is environmental and ecological art.