Future Fashion
For over a decade, Liz Sunshine has been captivated by the way clothing shapes the identities and stories of individuals. As a documentary fashion photographer, she has witnessed how style communicates culture, self-expression, and personality. However, as her career evolved, Liz began grappling with a disconnect between her love for fashion and the confusion she felt in her own relationship with clothes. Although she adored fashion, clothes often made her feel bad about herself, complicating her wardrobe choices and contributing to a growing sense of overwhelm surrounding consumption. This tension sparked a new direction in her work - Our Relationship With Clothes.
What began as a personal exploration soon blossomed into a broader conversation, involving both art and dialogue - asking people questions about their relationship with clothing, sharing these responses, and creating space for people to reflect on their habits and values. Through her work, Liz aims to highlight how clothes have the power to shape self-esteem, a sense of belonging, and the way we see the world. This shift in perspective is not about telling people what to wear but about encouraging them to connect with their clothing in a mindful, intentional way that values quality over quantity.
Her latest work, Future Fashion, is a culmination of this exploration - a reflection on style as we age. Created using AI, these images of older women are intended to inspire confidence and joy, illustrating a future where style knows no age limits. This project doesn’t promote trends or selling clothes, rather it imagines a world where creativity and individuality are the true markers of beauty. AI allowed Liz to visualise what these women might look like in a future where fashion and age coexist freely, unrestricted by societal expectations or beauty standards.
In her 15-year career as a documentary fashion photographer, Liz noticed when approaching older women for portraits, most would decline through lack of confidence or fear of judgement. However, through AI, she was able to create images that celebrated their beauty without the barriers of reality, inviting people to imagine themselves in this future. These images serve as a love letter to our future selves - reminding us that aging is not something to fear or hide, but something to embrace.
The Future Fashion series is also a reflection on the growing homogenisation of beauty standards. As global fashion and beauty ideals continue to converge, it’s vital to remember that true diversity and individuality must be celebrated, not diminished. These AI-generated portraits, while beautiful, unintentionally reflect a narrowing of identities, and that, too, is an important social commentary.
At the heart of Our Relationship With Clothes, is the belief that fashion should be about more than just the garments we wear - it should be a conduit for connection. From mothers dressing their children to friends borrowing clothes and finding common ground in shared style, clothing is deeply entwined with the communities we build. It transcends the individual and acts as a powerful tool for bonding and self-expression. This project is as much about sparking conversation as it is about creating art.
Through dialogue and her work, Liz hopes to empower others and foster a community - one that celebrates individuality, embraces self-reflection, and strives to build a future where fashion is no longer driven by relentless consumption but by meaningful, sustainable choices. This is the vision she aims to bring to life through both Future Fashion and Our Relationship With Clothes.
Questioning style and age as a form of soft activism, especially in the context of owning clothing for a long time, challenges the deeply ingrained, consumer-driven mindset that prioritises constant newness and disposability in fashion. In a world where rapid trends and "throwaway" culture are encouraged, this kind of questioning invites people to reflect upon and challenge societal pressure to always appear youthful, and reconsider their desire to constantly buy new clothes to fit ever-changing standards.
By promoting the idea of owning clothing for a long time, emphasis is placed on slowing down, valuing quality over quantity, and fostering a deeper connection to what we wear - taking ownership of our choices rather than being dictated to by external forces. This mindset disrupts the cycle of overconsumption, waste, and exploitation that is rampant in the fashion industry. It highlights the power of mindfulness and conscious choices in both personal style and the broader cultural impact. It’s activism that’s gentle but impactful, shifting perspectives toward self-expression, sustainability, and values.
By embracing style that transcends age and longevity in our wardrobe, we actively push back against the expectations that fashion is only for the moment and that aging or re-wearing clothes should be avoided. It’s a quiet revolution through thoughtful, intentional living.
Frequently asked questions:-
Liz turned to AI for Future Fashion, as over the course of her 15-year documentary career, many older women she approached to take photos of declined. As a documentary photographer, she has always been drawn to a more organic, discovery-based approach to fashion. The idea of dressing women and posing them in curated spaces didn’t feel aligned with the authentic, spontaneous nature she aims for in her work. AI allowed her to explore this concept in a way that felt true to her process, offering a new path to visually represent the evolving relationship we have with clothing and aging.
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A selection of Future Fashion fine art prints are available in limited editions. For inquiries, please email info@streetsmith.com.au.
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The series played a significant role in reshaping how our community views aging and fashion. By showcasing visually older women in bold, joyful outfits, it challenges the stereotype that fashion is only for the young. The objective is to normalise and celebrate the idea that aging doesn’t diminish one’s love for fashion or their ability to dress creatively and confidently.
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By offering an inclusive and aspirational vision of older women dressed in styles that express their individuality and joy, Future Fashion empowers older women to feel confident and free in their fashion choices. It provides permission to embrace clothing as a form of self-expression at any age, counteracting the feeling of invisibility that older women often face in media and fashion.
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A critical outcome is the promotion of a more sustainable approach to fashion, where clothing is seen as a long-term investment rather than disposable. Future Fashion emphasises longevity and thoughtful consumption, encouraging viewers to make conscious choices that contribute to reduced consumption and textile waste.
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By exploring how older women engage with fashion, Future Fashion sparks conversations about how society views aging, women’s self-worth, and societal expectations. It encourages people to see older women not as a marginalised group but as vibrant, complex individuals whose style deserves visibility and admiration.
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The series of work also serve as a form of inspiration for younger women, showing them a vision of aging that is stylish, joyful, and empowered. It suggests that there is no “expiration date” for creativity in fashion and challenges younger generations to think about the kind of relationship they want to have with clothing as they age.
This project addresses themes of:Outline of Completed Projects and Activities
Future Fashion Book and Exhibition (2023)
Overview: A fine art series and book exploring the concept of style as we age, produced using AI technology.
Goals: To challenge age-related stereotypes in fashion and provide inspiration for people to embrace their future selves through clothing.
Key Achievements: The book was launched alongside an exhibition, generating extensive public interest and discussions about aging, personal style, societal pressures and consumption.
Impact: Engaged audiences through social media and exhibitions, creating conversations about fashion for all ages.
Additional Details: The book and fine art series are available for purchase, providing an opportunity for reflection in private settings such as the home, and conversation with friends and family.
Instagram Series (2023 - present)
Overview: A series of 15 images from Future Fashion were shared to Instagram, celebrating joyful and confident older women in fashion.
Goals: To spark conversations about aging, style, and the potential for women to embrace their future selves through fashion.
Key Achievements: The images reached 20 million people, with hundreds of thousands of likes, comments, and shares. Many women engaged by tagging friends, and commented on the post their own aspirations for aging with confidence.
Impact: The project resonated deeply with audiences, inspiring discussions on social media about redefining aging and the role of fashion in self-expression.
Additional Details: The series became a viral sensation, with numerous comments such as “This will be us when we are older” reflecting the collective excitement and desire for positive representation of aging women in fashion. An unintentional theme of friendship emerged, highlighting the significant role of fashion as the foundation of many female friendships.
Digital Q&A
Overview: A digital Q&A series designed to engage a global audience in conversations extending the themes of the Future Fashion book and exhibition.
Goals: To broaden the conversation around style and aging by collecting diverse, personal responses from a global audience and provide a safe space for people to reflect on their relationship with clothes.
Key Achievements: The Q&A was launched alongside an exhibition, generating extensive public interest and discussions about aging and style.
Impact: Responses from a global audience, including Australia, Sweden, Poland, England, and Canada, enriching the conversation and expanding the project's reach.
Additional Details: The Q&A is published via a QR code within the book and remains live.
Reflection Cube Activation (2023)
Overview: At the launch of the Future Fashion Book, a Reflection Cube activation was introduced, inviting attendees to anonymously share their thoughts to the 10 project specific questions.
Goals: To create a safe space for personal reflection for event attendees, and open, thoughtful discussion where desired.
Key Achievements: Every attendee participated in the Reflection Cube activation, sparking conversations and creating a sense of community. Even attendees who did not know anyone were able to engage with strangers through this activation, resulting in a collection of 100 heartfelt responses.
Impact: A valuable collection of 100 responses was gathered, contributing to the broader conversation around the emotional connection to fashion. This activation helped to break down social barriers, inviting everyone into the conversation.
Additional Details: The responses collected will be shared digitally, allowing the conversation to continue and contribute to future art projects.
