The materials used in the collection Riding Bitch are a combination of fabrics and motorcycle gear and suits. I wanted to purchase as few materials as possible for this collection, so I did a good bit of ‘dumpster-diving’. My bosses at the leather shop allowed me to keep any leather scraps that I could find in garbage cans. This allowed me to use high-quality leather for my collection. I found myself going through all of the garbage bins by the die-cutter and work tables every week for several months. My creativity was stretched with pattern drafting because the scraps were always obscure shapes and were fairly small. If I wanted to create something large entirely out of leather, then I had to Tetris* the scraps together.

At the tailor shop, accidents in production happen and customers have continuously changing opinions. If a suit arrived for a customer and the fit was incorrect (and not adjustable within the brand’s parameters) then the suit was declared a re-make and tossed away. If the customer decided they did not like the color or customizations of their garment then the suits are also re-makes and therefore tossed. Every month at the tailor shop grew a new mountain of re-make jackets, trousers, vests, and shirts. Unless damaged, these suits were regularly donated with the company tags removed. For me, this mountain meant endless, unworn, merino wool suits and cotton shirts to drape and construct.