UNSUSTAINABLE FUTURES

About the Project:

Photographer and visual artist Alexander Kazakov and his team, with the support of Charity Shop charitable stores, presented the project “Unsustainable Futures”.

The project is dedicated to issues in the fashion industry, such as overproduction and overconsumption. Through visual imagery, we tell the story of characters living in the near future, where uncontrolled production has turned the planet into a massive dump of discarded items. The heroes of the shoot embody the last hope for change. Each of them travels through this world wearing items from sustainable brands, vintage stores, and upcycling brands, thus promoting the values of conscious consumption and sustainable design. Ultimately, all the heroes come together and find the last oasis of nature, becoming a new beginning for the planet.

The clothing worn by the models was provided by Russian sustainable brands, showrooms, and designers, while the background items were collected by the team and later donated to the “Second Breath” foundation through the Charity Shop for further reuse and recycling.

In the future, the photos and video from the project will be compiled into an NFT collection, with 5% of the profits donated to the “Second Breath” foundation.

The Charity Shop network provided clothing for the shoot and informational support for the project.

How the Idea Originated:

I previously studied the communication of Russian sustainable brands and worked on the communication strategy for the sustainable development of the IKEA brand in Russia as part of my university education. These projects introduced me to the topic and sparked further interest in its exploration. I then decided to turn these ideas into an art/fashion project and began looking for a team and brands to collaborate with. I wanted to do more than just create beautiful photos and videos; I wanted to take environmentally beneficial actions. This is how the idea of collecting items and later donating them to a foundation was born. Subsequently, the idea of creating an NFT collection emerged, with a certain percentage of the proceeds being donated to the foundation, allowing collectors to make a socially beneficial impact.

About the Details:

The first set creates a sense of darkness and abyss, with only a mountain of fashion items remaining, interacting with the characters. In the second and third sets, we created a small oasis of nature that has survived from earlier times. Initially, the light is red and aggressive, reflecting the atmosphere surrounding nature. Then the light becomes softer as the characters unite in the final frames.

The video’s music is created in an industrial style, echoing the theme of overproduction. At the beginning of the soundtrack, there are sounds of sewing machines and factory equipment to convey the atmosphere of fast fashion production.