How Two Teens Are Adapting Fashion to the New Normal
Words By Chez Cuenca
Everything is adjusting to the “new normal”. Fashion is no exception. With the youth adapting to life during the pandemic, they have also been devising ways to express themselves creatively. In this feature, we focused on two teens, Guille Hernandez from Spain and Gigi Engalla from the Philippines, who collaborated to produce Coz!ne—a project that inspires others to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic through fashion.
Photo: Gigi Engalla
Photo: Guillermo Hernández
Coz!ne is a zine that showcases different fashion pieces that were made in response to the crisis. The project is described as “creativity in the time of COVID-19.” The cover art features the gloved hands as a message to thank the frontlines for their work during the pandemic.
For his work, Guille designed a small collection of graphic shirts. The pieces range from a lockdown-inspired shirt with the word TRAVEL crossed out to a “quarantine nightwear couture” fit. All of the clothes were designed and sewn by Guille.
Gigi, on the other hand, designed the Offmask, which is a collection of facemasks with colorful and eye-catching patterns to encourage more people to practice proper hygiene. The best part is that the face masks were upcycled from old t-shirts. Talk about environmental-friendly too! The magazine even features instructions on how to wear the facemasks.
Overall, Guille and Gigi’s work proves that this pandemic has not stopped the youth from being creative and fashionable. In reality, it’s given others more time to work and innovate. Coz!ne shows us that art does not stop with adversity; instead, it adapts and comes out even greater.
View the full zine below!
JULY 1, 2020
All images courtesy of Gigi Engalla and Guillermo Hernández