AI-Generated Fashion Collection Paints NYC’s Orange-Hued Pollution Into Clothes

On Wednesday afternoon, New York City logged the worst air quality in the world. Flames and smoke from 150 concurrent wildfires in Canada making their way to the US blurred the metropolis’s skyline and gave it an ominous orange glow.

The dystopian cloud hanging over the city isn’t just eerie, but it’s also hazardous. Residents have been urged to stay indoors, while outdoor activities were shut down at schools. 

In this series, we imagine the orange-hued air pollution as wearable luxury pieces, conveying humankind’s ability to ignore problems right under their noses, like climate change.

Besides assuming the smoky palette and flowy forms of the smog, some pieces from this exploratory collection’s dresses, outerwear, and footwear are also partially dyed with CO2-absorbing algae ink.

This means when you walk around in the tainted air, your clothing traps some of the excess carbon from the surroundings.

In the spirit of keeping your lungs clear, there’s even a “limited” release of cloth masks kissed with a smoky orange pattern.

Fair warning, though: they’re just decorative and won’t actually be helpful when you wear them out in the current air quality.

Wildfire smoke is clogged with particulate matter, which when breathed in, can trigger things like asthma and heart disease.

If you must be outside, the best facial covering to use is a high-quality N95 or KN95 mask, fitted very tightly around the nose and cheeks.

New Yorkers who still need to get around are encouraged to travel by public transportation instead of driving. To keep cooled air in, they should also close the blinds and shades, and use fans.

This experimental fashion collection can’t be shopped as it’s all generated on Midjourney. The smog’s impact is real, however.

[via Slate, The Atlantic, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, images generated on Midjourney]