“HAND-ME-DOWNLOADED: RECOVERED AUTO-SAVES FROM A DIGITAL LANDFILL”

5 years ago at Katsucon - an east-coast anime convention - I stopped at a small booth in the Artist Alley, struck by how unusual it was. Amidst booths of anime prints and acrylic charms, there were clothes. Not just any clothes. Really, really unique clothes. Upcycled weird stuff I’ve never seen before, handmade by this friendly booth-runner and designer from Walla-Walla (I just learned this was a real place, by the way). I told them their stuff rocked. We followed each other on Instagram. I remember immediately being surprised of their (at the time) small following – to me, their work was truly onto something. Guess I just got ahead of the curve, because 5 years and 15,000 followers later, Fi Black of DYKEMINT is making waves in the sustainable fandom fashion world.

Every collection they put out has always been banger after banger after banger. I kept wondering when they’d get their big break – and when they said they’d be heading to New York Fashion Week in February, I was so, so stoked. “Finally!” I remember thinking. “The recognition they deserve.”

Obviously, I had to make the trip there to support them the best way I know how: with my camera. The day before the show, we gathered 5 models together out of the 15 looks, and crashed Chinatown in style. I could wax poetic about their clothing, but I think Fi said it best:

“This collection is what happens when a mothballed wardrobe glitches mid-update. Every piece is a hand-me-downloaded anomaly, stitched, airbrushed, printed, embroidered, and salvaged from timelines that never synced properly. It’s a maximalist layering of forgotten aesthetics, a wearable rebellion of reworked, one-of-one garments that will never exist the same way twice. This is character creation: hit randomize.

And if it doesn’t make sense? Try licking a graphics card.”

📸📲📺📀📡📟💽🕹️🎞️🧸🌈🦄☔️🧨📈💥

It was a fucking joy and honor to do this for Fi. I am unbelievably proud of the work they and their partner Lita did to make these pieces a reality… this is just a preview. Get ready for the full show soon, with all 15 looks.