Camella Ehlke: Lotus

Featured in BRIC’s Fall 2023 Gallery Exhibition, B-side: (Broken) Memory and Remix, Camella Ehlke’s textile sculptures reimagine customized patchwork, a hallmark of her streetwear label 555 Soul’s aesthetic, to showcase a melding of fashion, design, and sculpture, and to serve as a homage to the realms of fashion and Hip-Hop expression with which she has long been involved. Drawing from deadstock fabrics, Ehlke’s sculptural chairs and poufs exhibit Hip-Hop’s high-low aesthetic, harmonizing modernist furniture with streetwear. Featuring uneven shapes, pillowy textures, and vibrant patterns, these works embrace both form and style, an expressive love letter to her fashion community. Within her remixed artistic creations, the echoes of Ehlke’s 80s streetwear artifacts still resonate, offering a bridge between eras.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Camella Ehlke (she/her) is a designer and artist who works with the sewing machine as her paintbrush. She creates sculptures and designed objects characterized by uneven shapes, pillowy textures, and vibrant patterns made of surplus clothing fabric and shoelaces. While male voices have dominated the $300B streetwear industry, before there was Ecko/Complex and Supreme, Virgil Abloh and Ronnie Fieg (KITH), there was Triple Five Soul, a clothing label founded in 1989 by then nineteen-year-old Camella Ehlke. Having left streetwear behind her in 2001, Camella continued exploring ways to repurpose textiles, and in 2019, she began a conversation with her friend and advocate, the Off-White™ designer Virgil Abloh, discussing how she could use what Abloh called her “crash of fabric" to reinvent furniture. Her expansion beyond clothing utilizes her unique sewing techniques to outfit furniture pieces with repurposed fashion label fabrics. For example, the Ladies of Leisure chair set is made of surplus fabric from Vigil Abloh’s Off-White clothing brand. Ehlke's artistry is deeply aligned with her goal of finding the intersection between art, fashion, and sustainability.

Starting her company 555 Soul at the age of nineteen, Ehlke has consistently demonstrated dedication to her craft and creativity. In the past and present, Ehlke’s 151 Ludlow storefront has served as both a fashion house and the convening space for musicians and visual artists. In 2001, she received recognition as one of Crain's New York Business 40 under 40, highlighting her outstanding achievements and leadership in the fashion industry at a young age. In 2019, she showcased her remarkable talent in the Guilty by Association Hey What's Up showcase, captivating audiences with her unique artistic vision through a mixed-media furniture collection. Hey What’s Up includes a collaboration with renowned fashion designer Virgil Abloh, solidifying her status as a prominent figure in the industry and showcasing her ability to bring a foundational perspective to the forefront of fashion.

@camellaehlke

ABOUT BRIC HIP-HOP

BRIC Hip-Hop is an evergreen home for the education, expression, and evolution of Hip-Hop. Based in Brooklyn, our programming bridges ideas and incubation to catalyze a global Hip-Hop culture.