When artist and designer, Deborah Carter was cleaning up after having a dinner of mussels with her family, an inspiration came to her; When she collected the multitude of empty Lay's potato chip bags from her son's room, another inspiration came to her; And, as she looked around in her home and saw so much discarded cardboard, wine corks, and fabric she saw fashion! Today, many inspirations later, Deborah Carter pushes the envelope with wearable fashions that never fail to turn heads.
The artist refers to her fashion as upcycled art. Her fashion designs are clever, fun and thought provoking. Although, as lively and alluring as the pieces are, Deborah's true inspiration comes from the distress she feels about the waste we generate on a daily basis, and the environmental damage it causes globally.
She delights in seeing people wear her fashions, but also encourages the wearer and the viewer to reconsider their attitudes and habits about waste and consumerism.
Deborah Carter received her Bachelor's degree in Liberal arts, textiles, merchandising and consumer studies from the University of Vermont. She then went on to study at Parson's School of Design followed by a brief time in California to work in the fashion and design industry. Later, she moved to the beautiful Berkshire Mountains in Lenox, Massachusetts. Her work is represented by The Wit Gallery, also in Lenox, where her fashions are displayed as sculpture, with the added benefit of being wearable.
Through the Wit Gallery, Carter’s work has become a focal point of the twice-yearly Lenox Art Walk, a destination for tourists and locals alike. During the ArtWalk, models wearing her fashions stroll the town, causing double-takes and traffic bottlenecks as onlookers stop to take selfies with the glamorous woman wearing the dress of silver Christmas baubles, or a gown of black and white paper origami triangles. Internationally, her work was featured in the FS2020 Fashion Show, at St. Andrews University in Scotland, where she was one of thirty artists selected to showcase her work.
Deborah Carter’s wearable, upcycled designs are now on view and available for purchase at The Wit Gallery in Lenox Massachusetts.