The water crisis in Flint, Michigan is now in its fourth year, and citizens still have to use bottled water for drinking, cooking, and bathing. Empty plastic bottles have been become a common sight in Flint.
Now, artist Mel Chin partnered with Michigan native Tracy Reese to collaborate on Flint Fit, a project that is turning those empty water bottles from Flint residents into symbols of hope rather than reminders of the disaster. On Thursday, Reese gave us a preview of her first Flint Fit collection , made with REPREVE fabric from empty water bottles.
“It was Mel’s idea and he contacted us to see if we were interested and we were,” Reese explained. “And we wanted to create simple pieces that could be produced for consumption, right in Flint, by the women who made them.
The collection consists of nine looks total, including a twill mini anorak, khaki twill overalls, and a khaki twill cover-up with interlock trunks. Reese was inspired by the power and necessity of water, the resiliency of the Flint community, and the manufacturing history of Flint, especially the look of the 1940s, when Flint was a booming production center,
Touching the fabrics, we couldn’t believe that they were made from recycled plastic bottles.
“90,000 water bottles were collected,” Reese smiled. “From there, they were sent to Unifi in Greensboro, NC where they were transformed into thread and fabric – they even made a jersey material – and then sewn into garments that are ideally sustainable by Flint residents at the St. Luke N.E.W. Life Center.”
As part of Chin’s exhibition All Over the Place, Reese’s Flint Fit collection will be revealed with a fashion presentation at the Queens Museum’s Watershed Gallery on April 9.
In Ben Premeaux’s documentary by which accompanies the collection, a Flint resident says proudly, “We were known for the automobile; we’re known for education; we’re known for healthcare; now we’re going to be known for raincoats – hallelujah.”
The collection is proof that recycling makes good things happen! Hallelujah indeed!
