COME AS YOU ARE

CONCEPT

COME AS YOU ARE is an art project by Liz Sunshine and the Street Smith Agency team that invites the public to assess their relationship with clothes by participating in a documentary portrait pop-up and a Q&A series. It presents an opportunity to affect individual mindset, while collecting quantitative and qualitative data - inspired by public art projects such as JR’s #InsideOutProject.

In Australia, we consume an average of 56 new items of clothing per year; a lot of these items are worn once and end up as textile waste. This behaviour relates to a need for more confidence and value in selecting, rewearing and owning clothes.

“After a decade of documenting people both on the streets and connected to fashion, as well as observing my behaviour, I believe in the power of clothes to help tackle mental health, body positivity, self-acceptance and social pressures, building confidence in individuals, highlighting and celebrating community diversity, and promoting awareness of overconsumption and sustainability in regards to textile waste.” - Liz Sunshine, project lead.

A modern approach to portrait documentation, the COME AS YOU ARE project aims to offer a more inclusive representation of personal style to what is widely available online, highlighting individuals who use clothes as an opportunity for self-expression, identity, connection, but may not feel seen or valued in the community or on the social media highlight reels. 

Looking at the clothes on those around us speaks to societal values, trends, climate, and practicalities, both historically and in modern times. In the technological age of rapid image sharing and comparison culture, we want this project to be the voice that says getting dressed is personal. Being an individual is essential, and consuming within your values should be the number one priority. 

PROGRESS

Though the motivation and subject for this project are clear, the ideas and development for the outcome are a work in progress. Currently, we aim to have an initial collection of 1,000+ full-length portraits and hope to display these digitally - either alongside the pop-up or in conjunction with Q&A responses at a later date. 

While still in the planning stage, we have started to trial small pop-up approaches, seeking interest in being photographed via Liz Sunshine’s social media audience and the wider community. Stay Soft Market is the first opportunity for the public to participate in this pop-up series and builds upon the 1,000+ Q&A responses collected in 2022.

HISTORICAL WHY

“In early 2022, I realised I didn’t have a great relationship with clothes.

Deciding what to wear occupied my thoughts continuously, and many of my feelings about getting dressed were negative. This realisation led to a research project exploring our relationship with clothes, trying to understand how clothes make us feel - observing my behaviour and the community around me while creating an online conversation to help people feel a sense of belonging within this space. 

As I reconcile my relationship with clothes and look at the people around me, I see a narrative suggesting we must look a certain way, adding pressure, confusion and self-doubt when buying and wearing clothes.” - Liz Sunshine

We believe in the power of clothes for self-expression, but not at the cost of other people or the planet.

We hope you’ll join us on this journey.