“Can you rock a paper bag?”
The Paper Bag Chronicles (PBC) is a black-led, women-focused body positivity non-profit project and fashion wellness brand from Columbus creator and fashion designer Braisha Owens determined to show women of all sizes, ages and colors that they can rock anything, even a paper bag.
Owens said the goal of the non-profit — which was founded in 2019 as an extension of Owens’ luxury denim brand Kissed by BO — is to instill confidence and self-love in women and girls in Columbus and around the world, allowing them to feel comfortable in anything they choose to wear.
As an installment of Owens’ mission, Scarlette Magazine and the PBC brought the paper bag designs of three student designers to life.
Olivia Jackson, a rising G3 Masters student in the Knowlton School of Engineering, said she decided to be a part of the project after participating in the annual Knowlton Fashion Schau at Ohio State’s Knowlton School of Architecture in the spring.
“After creating winning designs in the Knowlton Fashion Schau, creating outfits made from unconventional materials, I learned I really enjoyed the expressive nature of fashion,” Jackson said. ”Creating outfits from unconventional materials is exciting and creates interesting avenues to implement problem-solving skills and design schemes.”
Jackson said the main inspiration for her piece came from Lena Horne’s iconic outfits that often included strong shoulders and layered fabrics.
Scarlett Yu, a rising senior at Olentangy Liberty High School and another designer from this year’s Knowlton Fashion Schau, said she immediately jumped on board when asked to be a part of the project.
“It was an amazing opportunity to show people that you can find beauty in the simplest things, even a paper bag,” Yu said.
Yu also said she understood the message being portrayed by PBC and was excited to be able to be a part of such an important movement.
“Paper bags are usually disregarded as just paper,” Yu said. “Typically, people will crumple it up, toss it aside in the trash or use it as a base to hold groceries or sketches, but PBC pushes women to step out of the norm and find beauty and value in what they already have — their ‘base.’”
Yu, having worked with duct tape to create pieces in Knowlton’s 2024 Fashion Schau, said she was excited to explore another uncommon medium for this project.
“I love to work with different mediums so I was excited to explore how to manipulate paper and structure it into a functioning dress,” Yu said. “Looking back, I am very happy and proud of my design and want to try making more paper dresses in the future.”
Ava Figlar, a rising fourth-year in fashion and retail studies, said when she found out the project was happening she knew she wanted to be one of the designers.
Having designed a dress for Scarlette Magazine’s Marie Antoinette-inspired photoshoot and three pieces for The Students for Sustainable Fashion’s Green Fashion Show during the spring semester, Figlar said this wasn’t her first rodeo.
“I saw that the photoshoot was happening right before I left to go home for the summer and I thought, ‘What’s one more [design] out of paper bags,’” Figlar said.
Figlar said the inspiration for the look came from the brands found on the paper bags she used to create the outfit, one from Used Kids Records and one from Whole Foods.
“I noticed that one of the bags was from a record store. I decided to go off of that and draw a record player with love coming out,” FIglar said. “The back was from a Whole Foods bag and I loved the fruits, which went with my theme of enthusiasm for growth and new life.”
The skirt, Figlar said, is where she let her creativity let loose.
“The skirt I really let go with,” Figlar said. “I found swirl art on Pinterest and I ended up decorating [the skirt] with affirmations.”
Figlar said that although the look, which took 10 hours and a lot of Duct Tape to construct, was largely a trial-and-error process, it was something that she found a lot of joy in creating.
“It reminded me of when I was in a fashion camp in elementary school and we were challenged to make dresses out of toilet paper,” Figlar said. “I just had so much fun with it. This seemed like it was meant for me.”
To learn more about the Paper Bag Chronicles’ mission visit the PBC website.
CREATIVE DIRECTOR Braisha Owens / SHOOT LEADS Samantha Harden, Ella Dipold / DESIGNERS Olivia Jackson, Scarlett Yu, Ava Figlar / MODELS Paige McBane, Summer Neds, Siya Patil / PHOTOGRAPHY Braisha Owens
