November 23, 2004
ROXY SAINT TRANSFORMS TRASH BAGS INTO "TRASH COUTURE"
ROXY SAINT, musician/performance artist/guerilla filmmaker, is launching a
most unusual line of clothing - one-of-a-kind dresses made from black
plastic trash bags, each one designed and painted by Roxy herself. The
anti-fashionista is calling the limited line "TRASH COUTURE," and the first
dresses available, all priced at $55.00 go on sale today at
www.roxysaint.com.
The Los Angeles-based Roxy, who shops at thrift stores and makes or
customizes most of her own clothes, came up with the idea when her wardrobe
was stolen while she was on tour in the U.K. Financially unable to replace
her gear, she got creative and improvised, bought a box of plastic trash
bags at a London market, cut out holes for her head and arms, and used
acrylics to paint a face on the front of the bag. "I really liked the idea
of wearing trash bags," said Roxy, "because they are totally anti-fashion,
and I don't want to be identified by what I wear, but by my music."
Her first trash bag dress was a big hit on stage. Such a hit that the
dresses became an essential and fun part of her wardrobe. That led to
friends and fans asking where they could get her "rubbish wear."
Every one of Roxy's Trash Couture dresses has an original face painted on
it. "Faces fascinate me," Roxy explained. "I've been painting faces since
I was very young because each one is totally unique." As each dress is, in
fact, an original piece of art, some of the few who own one of the dresses
display them on a wall as opposed to wearing them.
The Trash Couture dresses are individually named ("Chaos," "Aquarius,"
"Glitch") and numbered "1/1," and available in various sizes. Dresses made
from large trash bags will come with the bag's original plastic tie to be
used as a belt; Roxy has also used the plastic ties to create a handful of
halter-top dresses.
Roxy Saint, who one journalist described as "PJ Harvey crossed with Sophia
Coppola," has created a formidable buzz in the UK and played the Leeds and
Reading festivals this past summer. Chiefly inspired by Andy Warhol, she is
a DVD-only artist, and her debut release, "The Underground Personality
Tapes," hit the stores November 16. The DVD is a collection of ten songs
and videos that are vibrant and raunchy, and feature cameos by Nick Oliveri
and Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age. Already, five of the videos
from Roxy's DVD have been in the Top 30 of iFilm's Top Rock/Pop Videos of
All Time, having logged nearly a half-million "on demand" streams.
Roxy plans to tour the U.S. in early 2005, but in terms of her new-found
career as a dress designer she states, "I've already got my eye on bubble
wrap, aluminum foil, and colored Saran Wrap."