INTERVIEW #112 PARKER DAY

Name: Parker Day

Based in: Los Angeles, CA

Occupation: Photographic Artist

Get inspired by: Odd old tchotkes, upsetting color combinations, and cursed images found in the recesses of the internet

Instagram: @heyparkerday

Website: parkerdayphotography.com

Hi Parker Day! We're so happy to welcome you to A Sustainable Closet! Tell us about yourself.

Hi! I'm a clothes-obsessed photographic artist. This leg of my professional art career has been running for 7 years now but I've been shooting photos practically my whole life since my mom gave me film disposables as a small kid. She wouldn't let me use her fancy 35mm Nikon SLR yet. That's the camera she shot countless photos of me on as a small child playing dress-up for the camera. I found freedom and self-expression through those games of dress up and it's an energy that carries through to my shoots today. 

You're a photographer and artist, tell us more about your occupation and what type of work you do.

I shoot character portraits in lurid colours on gritty 35mm film. I do much of the wardrobe styling for my shoots and craft characters for the camera. The characters I shoot are a balance of fantasy and true humanity in all its filth and beauty.

Are you selling your masterpieces?

But of course! People can email or DM me directly with print enquiries or purchase my ICONS NFTs on secondary through http://icons.la/

Where do you find inspiration?

My work deals with identity and the idea of revelling in the egos we create while recognizing a universal oneness beyond all ego forms. 

What is your relationship with clothes, how do you consume your clothes?

I adore them. My only regrets in life are the clothes I've lost along the way. I'm not sentimental about much but clothes are so linked to memory and experience. A joy of mine is buying clothes that I had or dreamed of having when I was young. Like I recently bought a pink plaid Diesel skirt from 1998 on eBay. I know it's from 1998 because I specifically remember being 14 and begging my mom to buy it, she indulged me and then in short order I ruined it in the wash! Heartbreaking.

Favourite stores or brands to shop from?

SSENSE for fantasy scrolling or H. Lorenzo locally. I also love Vivienne Westwood. I'll buy some pieces from those spots that I think of as long-term investments. Like I got an Ottolinger dress from SSENSE when I first found out I was pregnant and it's stretchy and drapey enough to wear all through my pregnancy and well beyond. I just have to never ever wear it around my kitten--its dangly stringy bits are too tempting! 

What is a sustainable closet for you?

I have both my personal closet and my styling closet for shoots which is just a storage unit crammed with racks on racks of clothes. For shoots I get virtually everything from estate sales and second hand stores, I give these pieces multiple lives across shoots and then when I'm done with them I resell them and the circle of life continues. My personal wardrobe is much the same (and there's a lot of crossover with my styling wardrobe!) but for myself in addition to second hand finds I do like to treat myself to new, high-quality pieces that'll stand the test of time. 

What do you think about the fashion industry in general?

The motivation of any industry is profit and that's produced fast fashion out of demand for cheap and trendy clothes perpetuated by our desire to imitate others whom we're constantly confronted with on social media. But the clothes don't last! Neither do the trends or the rush you get from consumerism. As much as I'm a hoarder maximalist for my shoots out of necessity, I think we'd all as individuals and a world be better off if we invested in quality pieces and took good care of them. You go into an old Victorian house and the closets are so tiny because people had barely any clothes. Clothes were very expensive because they were made with care and quality materials. Now so much of "fashion" is disposable.

What can one do that seeks to create a more sustainable closet?

Focus on quality, and versatility, think about how a garment will look in 2, 5, or 10+ years. I still wear some pieces I had 20 years ago. Embrace imperfections! That's where heart and humanity are. 

Describe what fashion is for you, in three words:

Identity, expression and JOY.