Artist Completes Two-Year Durational Dressing Experiment

Camilla Carper's performance at Freshkills Park marks the end of their project to wear as many clothes as possible every day.

Apr. 8, 2026 at 9:04pm

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A striking abstract composition featuring bold, jagged geometric shapes in vibrant red and white, conceptually representing an artist's exploration of the limits of clothing and personal expression.An artist's two-year journey of wearing as many self-made clothes as possible culminates in a powerful performance exploring the boundaries of fashion and the human form.Staten Island Today

Over the past two years, artist Camilla Carper has been on a unique durational performance art project where they aimed to wear as many clothes as possible every single day. On Saturday, Carper marked the end of this experiment with a final performance at Freshkills Park in Staten Island, where they slowly removed layer after layer of the approximately 80 pounds of fabric that had completely obscured their figure. The project evolved from an initial focus on surface area and density to exploring historical costume techniques to support the weight of the garments.

Why it matters

Carper's project challenged conventional notions of sustainable and minimalist fashion by embracing excess and accumulation, rather than reduction. Their work explored the contradictions between individual expression through clothing and the systemic pressures of consumer culture.

The details

Carper initially studied fashion design at Parsons but became drawn to more conceptual ideas around dressing. In 2018, they decided to make all their clothes for a year from a single bolt of fabric. This led to the two-part project - 'As Little Clothing as Possible' in 2024, followed by 'As Much Clothing as Possible' starting in late 2024. While the 'As Little' project only lasted a season, the 'As Much' experiment grew more all-consuming than Carper expected, as they continued adding layers and exploring internal structures to support the weight. The final performance at Freshkills Park involved Carper slowly shedding the many garments they had accumulated.

  • Carper's 'As Little Clothing as Possible' project ran from June to September 2024.
  • Carper began the 'As Much Clothing as Possible' project in December 2024, originally planning to end it on the Spring Equinox in March, but extended it further.
  • Carper's final performance at Freshkills Park took place on Saturday.

The players

Camilla Carper

The artist who undertook the two-year durational dressing experiment, starting with making all their own clothes from a single bolt of fabric and culminating in the 'As Much Clothing as Possible' project.

Zoe Latta

The co-founder of fashion label Eckhaus Latta, who suggested to Carper that they were doing performance art and should explore that further at AZ West, the artist compound of Andrea Zittel.

Andrea Zittel

The artist who runs AZ West, the artist compound in Joshua Tree where Carper lived for two and a half months and further developed their artistic practice around clothing and experimental living.

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What they’re saying

“I had a heart to heart with Zoe [Latta] and what I was doing and she was like, 'I think you're doing performance art, and you should go to AZ West and figure stuff out'.”

— Camilla Carper, Artist

“The task of making the smallest garment is a lot easier to achieve than the grandest, the biggest, the heaviest.”

— Camilla Carper, Artist

“I am also interested in setting up these kinds of contradictions. I'm trying to be excessive, but I'm putting my excessive labor into these garments, and I'm accumulating at a mass scale; but I'm proposing it is for one body and it is to be worn all at once.”

— Camilla Carper, Artist

What’s next

Carper is unsure what their first outfit will be after the project ends, as most of their clothes are in storage and they don't want to wear anything they've made before due to the loaded meaning behind each piece.

The takeaway

Carper's durational dressing experiment challenged conventional notions of sustainable and minimalist fashion by embracing excess and accumulation, rather than reduction. Their work explored the contradictions between individual expression through clothing and the systemic pressures of consumer culture.