This 'Quarantine Couture' Instagram fashion series is inspiring people to create incredible looks from household items
Brooklyn based artist Nick Laughlin is using fashion, laughter and the art of drag to spread joy during the coronavirus pandemic. It would seem that art was indefinitely put on hold in New York City, but the artists were all at home itching to get creative. That’s when Laughlin came up with “Quarantine Couture,” a socially-distanced Instagram fashion series that would feature looks created from household items. “All these people poured their hearts out to me saying, ‘This has been a really difficult time for me, I’ve lost a family member or I’ve lost a friend and watching these videos has truly brought me joy,’” he shares. “To see something that I thought was just funny and silly and weird really affect people and make their day better, it’s just so simple and amazing to me.” As the weeks went on, Laughlin was blown away by submission numbers growing and how participation was becoming global. “It’s so beautiful to see people's creativity grow week to week. People use plants, they use their pets, they tie up tee shirts and make hats, just anything they have in their house.” Laughlin shares, “The core of it for me was being stuck inside and making fashion. We are quarantined and it is our own version of couture.” “Quarantine Couture” has also offered an opportunity for folks to step out of the box of what they would normally wear and find freedom in expressing themselves in new ways from the comfort of their own homes.
Video Transcript
NICK LAUGHLIN: All these people have poured their hearts out to me, saying, this has been a really difficult time for me, I have lost a family member, or I've lost a friend of a friend, and watching these videos has truly brought me joy. To see something that I thought was just funny and silly and weird really affect people and make their day better, it's just so simple and amazing to me that I had to keep doing it.
Hey there, cats and kittens.
My name is Nick Laughlin, and I have created an online runway show called "Quarantine Couture," where I challenge my friends and my followers to gather whatever they have in their houses and put it on their bodies and film a 15-second clip of them walking the runway.
The social distance runway showcase continues today.
When I started "Quarantine Couture," I truly did it as a fun little silly thing. It was St. Patrick's Day, and I was like, you know what, I wanted to go outside and go to parades. I never miss a holiday, and I love to make every holiday just queer and silly and fun.
Hey, gorg. Are you stuck inside and feeling-- bored? Join me today by sending me an extra stunning, sickening green look that you've gathered from materials from your house.
And I had so much response. I had, like, 150 submissions, and I couldn't even put all of them on my story. People from all around the world asking if they can do it. I was like, of course, of course.
Today's "Quarantine Couture" theme is spring blackout.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Dystopian disco.
Are you feeling-- blue?
People have managed to use things I never imagined in these videos. People are using plants, their cat. They're cutting up t-shirts and making hats, making it happen no matter what.
Today's runway theme is animal print.
The white party.
It doesn't matter if it's masculine. It doesn't matter if it's feminine. It doesn't matter if you blend the two. The pressure is off because you're just in your house doing whatever you can to, like, make a silly look.
You thought just because we're all quarred and bored we weren't going to celebrate Easter?
It's starting to become like a little family. Like, I have people from Brazil, people from Europe, people from California. Everyone's just posting every week, and we all come together and look at each other's looks. And it's really cool.
We're going to have a runway. Run, run, run, runway.
The coolest part about all of this is realizing that I am a leader. I mean, a lot of people might think I do it for attention or post silly things online, but I genuinely love the way these clothes look. And I love the way that I feel. To see people identify with that and truly, like, be inspired by it has really been so touching.
So let's turn that frown upside down and turn it into-- fashion.
To, like, see how people have pushed themselves out of their own box-- I have some masculine friends that would never be caught dead in something like this going out to a bar or anything. But they're comfortable with posting online and being silly. And I think maybe before the quarantine, they took all of this for granted and [INAUDIBLE] for them. And I think hopefully after this they'll be like, you know what, I don't care anymore.
Stay safe, guys.
