Imaginative, fun, collaborative 

Clara Chu is a London based multidisciplinary artist and designer.
She creates work that re-imagines everyday, mundane objects in our domestic world, mixing mass production with the hand crafted. Visionary and colourful pop accessories challenge what we wear on our bodies, not only textiles but everyday household objects we take for granted such as a mop, a kettle and a toothbrush. Clara’s exploration around up- cycling questions the prominence of fast-moving consumer goods, blurring boundaries between ‘high’ and ‘low’ forms of culture through humorous transformations. Her practice helps change the perception around waste in forms of fashion accessories, installations and workshops. 

I first conceptualised household items as resource material for my work during the first year of my Masters studies at the Royal College of Art. I was exploring the world of food packaging, food transportation including takeaway, packed- lunches, the tools people were using historically, how they have evolved and how they differ in different cultures and eras. I soon then picked my favourite form of food packaging, which was a Tupperware container, and studied its history, manufacturing technique, and their huge variety of designs. I wanted to redesign a lunch bag essentially, and to present something with such mundane functionality within the context of Fashion. In the end, I produced a handbag collection utilising different kitchen utensils including chocolate moulds, silicone heatproof mats and water bottle lids. 

My fascination for readymades and found objects have always been a key inspiration behind the intention of up-cycling in my products. While I am continuously fascinated by plastic as a material and its unique properties in malleability, durability and flexibility, I was always aware of its non-repairable and non-biodegradable properties. The capitalist mode of plastic production, consumption and disposal, similar to one of the fashion industry’s, is a major contributor to our climate and social crises. With ecological issues at every stage of its lifecycle, it imposes severe problems on nature, health and the well-beings of all species. The topic of social injustice has intensified with plastic’s rapid acceleration of production where marginalised communities bear a disproportionate share of waste management costs in comparison to high-income countries. With these problems in mind, my business began with a vision toward an alternative and subversive way of making. Pieces take shape as one-of-a-kind fashion accessories, handmade using found and discarded household items such as a plastic spoon, a toaster, a keyboard and an ice cube tray. The re-use of materials used in my practice has evolved from kitchenware into other types of everyday materials ranging from old electronics, toiletries to cleaning appliances. 

In the coming months I plan to connect with local organisations that focus on recycling and repurposing plastics and work with NGOs that target cities' industrial and commercial wastes with the aim to achieve the diversion of product wastes to landfill. Through these collaborations, I hope to gain support on the salvage of abandoned and disused objects and create a collaborative vision on producing better waste management systems that are both creative and inspiring. 

Being part of The State of Fashion Biennale 2022 in Arnhem has marked a significant achievement for the business.

I learnt from Het KinderWijkTeam in plastic recycling and partnered with 2Switch to produce ‘Promenade on Slow Street’, an interactive installation piece aimed at questioning our existing fashion high street; 3 sculptures that helped introduce some of Arnhem’s ‘slow-street initiatives’ as well as a ‘zero-waste bag’ workshop corner where audiences built fashion accessories using donated second hand objects, such as cookie cutters, toys, yarns and milk bottles. 

It was the proudest moment to date because the piece that had gathered inspirational perspectives from the public have since challenged the business’ core values of care, empathy, collaboration and creativity. They had enriched my design thinking on solutions that evolve around connections and social interactions, accessibility of my products and their repair systems, as well as developing new systems that empower makers on reviving skills, hence mending the broken relationship between the production of fashion and the wearer. I was proud to have been apart of a collaborative creation partnering with 2Switch and working with volunteers on the production of this piece. 

The results from Promenade on Slow Street was past onto the city council and neighbourhood developers of Arnhem. Key words such as ‘appreciation’, ‘honesty’, ‘green’ and ‘more than just money’ came up frequently from visitors participated in the programme. Recommendations and inspirational perspectives such as making shop windows available for young and creatives of Arnhem, ensuring full transparency in process and production, and making free spaces possible intended for suggested target groups such as entrepreneurs, creative makers and policy makers were put forward. 

Improving the design process is a continuous goal for the business. Next is to involve the community more in both my sourcing and production processes by encouraging customers to donate their own materials in order to receive a ‘new’ product in return. I would also like to spend more time on developing a new website that offers a more accessible, systemised and efficient process of purchasing a Clara Chu custom accessory. 

I would like to keep myself opened to opportunities that allow the transformation of everyday objects in different artistic directions on top of accessories products. I see the future of my designs evolving into different forms and categories within the arts and design realm from fashion accessories, sculptures, installations to furniture through potential collaborations with different lifestyle brands. 

Website: solo.to/clarachu
Instagram: @clarachuu