NYLON COLA

NYLON COLA is a random image generator created in response to themes surrounding childhood and the rise of the internet in the early ’00s.

In collaboration with MA designer Masha Popova, this project is a response to her graduate collection called “Disobedient Dress.” Design inspirations arose from Popova’s childhood memories in post-Soviet Ukraine and traditional tailoring, challenging the stereotypical logic of beauty.

The purpose of NYLON COLA is to embrace the oddities present throughout “Disobedient Dress.” The random image generator aims to make viewers feel a sense of randomness, in a world where nothing is truly random.

The starting point for this collaboration was to explore Popova’s manifesto that underlined nonchalant beauty and childhood memories. Having grown up in the early aughts, our ideas were influenced by the digital era and the internet.

To tie in themes taken from our pasts, we decided to approach fashion image differently from the usual methods of creating editorials or zines. After coming across Michael Fogleman’s random phrase generator, we were inspired to create our own site and substitute words for images. This outcome allowed us to select and present images to viewers randomly, rather than flicking through a physical magazine.

Building the website, while avoiding fashion research, was intentional. As children, fashion was a purely experimental delight that inspired limitless imaginations and style choices. By approaching the project with this mindset, we saw Popova’s collection with a different perspective. It became a collection without restrictions on perception.

NYLON COLA allows viewers to see our selection of images we collected over during this collaboration. The need for control was removed during this project. We hope to recreate a celebration of casual beauty and the naive openness that children have.

Words by Hilda Kosunen