Creativity from Without

In class last week, we discussed the concept of “creativity from without.” One of the examples given was of a man, Andy Goldsworthy, who created ephemeral art from the nature around him. The specific piece that I remember was created from garlic leaves.

This concept of “creativity from without” lead me to think of other designers who have also found inspiration for their creativity from without. One designer’s work that I particularly remember encountering is Jay Sario, who created a dress for the Discarded to Divine Fashion Show in San Francisco in late April of this year.

Since the show was sponsored by Fiji Water, Jay Sario created a dress incorporating the company in order to be auctioned off for charity. A contestant on a past season of Project Runway, Jay Sario is a fashion designer that has had experience in creating garments inspired by various objects or ideas around him.

The Fiji dress by Jay Sario

For this particular dress, he drew inspiration from the color and design on the plastic Fiji water bottle. He cut out circles from the bottle and connected them to the bottom of teal blue dress that he constructed. Without knowing about the concept, many would not notice that the circles at the bottom of his dress were made from Fiji water bottles.

Jay Sario was able to find inspiration in a plastic water bottle – an object that we overlook on a day to day basis. He created a beautiful garment from an object that we know so well to just hold water. He is a great example of how we can find inspiration and creativity outside of our own selves and even apply to our daily lives.