Models and Jeans

Linda
I wanted to design the jeans with "bare" minimal accents like buttons. I used ordinary buttons and arranged them in a way so that they had an entirely different look and meaning. I wanted to push people's thoughts with this. The meaning of the design is that the buttons represent the different kind of people in our community. We're all different shapes, colors, and sizes. I gathered the buttons from every article of clothing in my closet because I wanted to use a medium that I already had. It was making the best of what I've got. So, putting all the buttons collectively on the jeans symbolize that if we all came together as a group, then we can make a strong impact or difference. It's lending a helping hand to your neighbor. I wanted to send a message of united, collaborative, goodwill brotherhood that would inspire more people to join.
Jennifer
The ribbons symbolize entanglement - being caught in a downward spiral indicative of poverty. The pearls symbolize the slipping grasp on hope, wealth, and happiness.
Lillian
"Heal Poverty" and "Bandage over bondage". I will be wearing bandages on the top of my body and chains around my hips to encourage the message that we should be healing the marks of poverty and loosening the bonds of economic exploitation.
Philip
"The paradox": When I started talking to friends and family about the campaign many were confused about the connection between a fashion show and the purpose to raise awareness, resistance to poverty. In reality, poverty is everything but extravagant and this is how I wanted the jeans to be seen. I anticipate that most of the other jeans would be seen as interesting, creative and striking. I hope that our audience will look at the jeans and see the simple patches and think, "that's simple." Not a far stretch from how the solution to poverty actually should be.
Wendy
The sequin tuxedo stripes and back pocket design symbolize the luxuries and wealth of our modern life. It is juxtaposed with the parody of the famous phrase "love, peace, and prosperity," to remind us that we should not ignore the reality of poverty in Asia.
Mindy
Going for a minimal exterior (having nothing) but bold interior (having a lot of heart and determination = rich). I chose silk because it is inspired by Japanese kimonos and Korean Hanboks. And, I chose red because it is bold and makes a statement.
Emily
The Phoenix is an ancient Chinese symbol meaning prosperity and hope ad it is said that the tears of a Phoenix can heal. I have painted a Phoenix on these jeans in gold a color that symbolizes wealth across the globe and the Phoneix's tears fall in blue and gold in order to spread its healing to the world. The two Chinese letters on the back pocket means the male and female Phoenix united.
Alby
Part of combating poverty is maintaining a positive mindset – finding a reason to smile, finding the strength within to keep going forward. The girl painted on these jeans envisions a future in which there is hope and happiness.
Stephanie
"Uncuff the exploited." Along with my jeans, I have a belt with handcuffs to represent how women who are forced into the sex industry are cuffed to their position beause they have no money to get out of it and because the people that they work for exploi
Mike
At first glance, there appears to be nothing wrong with the jeans. Only upon closer examination do we see imperfections and holes throughout the fabric. Like these holes, poverty is something that is only seen by those who care enough to really look.
Linda
The message was based on the Beatles song, "All You Need is Love." It's about 11 separate short statements all grouped together that's not meant to be one grammatically correct sentence. I had written on the back pocket left: "All You Need is Love is Unity Give Humanity a Chance There's Nothing You Can Do That Can't Be Done Love is All You Need." Back pocket right: "You Need to Give Help Be Part of a Movement That Supports Living Give Life Help Poverty Show Compassion L$VE is All You Need." The reason why I had chose love for the concept behind the jeans is because the world needs more of that. Not only can we help poverty through love and compassion, but we can help our fellow Asian people. It's about brotherhood, love, and humanity. It starts with who we are and our capability of helping others. Give philanthropy a chance!
Betty
From far away, the design on my jeans is a bit of a mess. Likewise, when we look at poverty on a global scale, sometimes it may seem like it may be too big of a problem for us to make any kind of difference; a mess that we can't clean up. But, if you look closer, you see that there is meaning in my design and that beauty can arise from chaos. Likewise, if we focus not on the global problem but on a maller scale, we realize that we can make a difference. So even if we only have the power to do something small to help combat this "mess" that we call poverty, the smallest change can be a very beautiful thing.
April
On the bottom left side, there's a dragon in black with chains wrapped around it to symbolize asian countries and their plight. Some of their problems are hidden and not really visible, hence the black ink and the low placement on the jeans. The chains of newspaper show how these countries are being chained down by poverty. On the top right is a dragon cut out of the jeans so that your skin shows through. this is to convey the message that these asian countries can break free from the chains of poverty if the cause is brought to the attention of the public, represented by the high position on the jeans. And, you can become part of the cause to help out as represented by the skin showing through the jeans to make up the dragon.
Darvy
   
The flags represent the select poverty stricken countries in Asia. The "peace" sign on the other leg shows the outcome of a lack of poverty.
Rich
One side is destroyed signifying poverty as the other side is jeweled signifying wealth. There is red paint on both sides and in the inside signifying that regardless of economic standing, we are all human on the inside.
Amy
We can only fight poverty by spreading love. The four-leaf clover is a good luck charm to give them hope in order to overcome poverty. The towel material shows that we are spreading love to help clean up the mess that is poverty.
Carmela
IMAGINE…a world without Poverty.
I see Asia and the rest of the world like a lotus flower. Like the lotus that grows from the bottom of a muddy pond then rises above to blossom into a beautiful flower, people suffering from poverty will emerge from this growing epidemic and overcome their life struggles. With unity, advocacy, awareness, and resources, we can all live in a world without poverty. Just imagine how wonderful that would be…
Meeka
The maps on my jeans represent the fact that poverty has no geographic boundaries. Poverty permeates through the wealthiest of nations and is an even stronger presence in the developing countries. It is our goal to create awareness and raise funds to help our Asian brothers and sisters that struggle to meet their most basic needs. Poverty is a global issue that needs to be addressed by our own country and the rest of the world.
Rose
I wanted the jeans to reflect an image of everday wear and tear. Like poverty, the jeans symbolizes a continuing cycle that affects everyone from the residents of People's Park in Berkeley to the starving children in South Asia to the HIV-positive mothers of West Africa.
Jessica
People often overlook poverty, because wealth and affluence is more prevalent in the media and public eye. My denim reflects the poverty that is a reality and represents the struggle between the haves and the have nots.
Michael
My jeans represent the constant personal struggle to be an active contributor to the abolishment of poverty. The bamboo on the front represents strength and creation, accompanied by the Kanji for strength, the bamboo transitions into an emaciated grasp just out of reach of the back pocket.
Krystal
The world in beads is encircled by arrows which represent how poverty is a never-ending cycle. The black chain is anchoring the world and the word "ACT" is the only thing that interrupts the chain to sho that poverty can only be broken by action.
Melissa
The hands represent taking action into your own hands to raise awareness about poverty. The shape of the heart means that we should show care and compassion toward helping the less fortunate rise out of poverty so that they can lead a normal and comfortable life.
Lily
I made my jeans very simple, thus embracing the true meaning of BARE. :) I put the Citizens of the World logo on the right leg in the front and the picture of the BARE campaign on the left leg. In the back is the simple message: BARE. I really liked the images that you guys put together and I want to reinforce them on my jeans and represent them on stage.
Karen
   
The jean design focuses on people believing, imagining, dreaming, and hoping for a better world in which their actions and spirits unite to end poverty.
Tina
"To Desire is to Suffer" is one of the Four Noble Truths which I truly and utterly believe.
However, my statement, "Yet those who desire nothing still suffer", shows those in poverty have no other desire than the basic essentials in life yet they still suffer much pain and heartache.
My reason for cutting one pant leg and flipping it inside out is to show the discrepency between the "have" and "have nots" -- they both suffer, whether or not, they desire.
Sindy
"Bare your soul" and "compassion is key": These jeans are turned inside out to signify the baring of the soul. To bare your soul to the campaign (and to the cause) to eradicate poverty, one must have compassion for humanity. The hearts designed on the jeans are symbolic of compassion.
Lei
The meaning of my jeans ties into one of the biggest problems of poverty: living conditions that are so horrendous that they result in unnecessary deaths. Slums, the location of and the manifestation of poverty are exhibited on the right side of the jeans and is contrasted by the city/suburbs on the left. The slum conditions of overcrowding leads to millions of deaths due to fire, bad water, unsanitary conditions, and natural hazards such as mudslides.
Nick
   
Poverty has cast a net over our nations. A net of suffering, misfortune, and struggle.
Tanya
"Shackles of poverty": The red bands around the ankles of the jeans show the limitations on the people of poverty. The red bands are for the fear and the pain. The white patch represents hope for the future.
James
"Politics of poverty": The original whole jean represents the image of a world in harmony we idealize. Even looking at the torn fabric before us we strive to see it in its original composition. In the world, invisible borders divide people across lands rich and poor. The tears and cuts in the fabric represent the divisions caused by the violence of war and duplicity of diplomacy. Amidst the torn pieces of fabric and divided land, gilded neo-imperialist policies clench the torn world together.