Denouncing Panopticism

Category: Apparel

Historically, reeds have been used throughout West Africa and across the African diaspora in weaving, architecture, basketry, ceremonial objects, and domestic craft traditions, carrying histories of resilience, communal knowledge, and deep connections to place. Constructed entirely from hand-collected reeds harvested from the shores of Rhode Island, and photographed within the very landscape from which its materials were sourced, this garment explores ecology, material value, and the beauty of impermanence. Centered around the question, What happens when we reject the expectations of respectability politics and conventional Western professionalism? the piece proposes an Afro-futuristic vision rooted in craft, adornment, texture, fluidity, and ephemerality rather than conventional symbols of status and permanence. By elevating an often-overlooked natural material into couture, it challenges Western notions of luxury that privilege manufactured perfection and durability over living materials that exist within ecological cycles. Emerging organically around the wearer's body, the reeds transform the figure into an extension of the landscape. Their ability to bend without breaking becomes a metaphor for the endurance of ancestral knowledge and the resilience of Black communities across generations and shores. Rejecting colonial ideals of permanence, the garment embraces the natural life cycle of its materials; the reeds will dry, shift, decay, and ultimately return to the environment from which they came. Through the careful collection and hand assembly of every reed, the work honors women's craft traditions, environmental stewardship, and cultural memory, inviting viewers to reconsider beauty as a relationship to the natural world rather than permanence.