Designer makes clothes out of German transit upholstery fabric, rides trains

Public transit upholstery is a marvel of stain-resistance, long-wearing durability and bizarre abstract patterns meant to deny the shifting conventions of fashion: all these make it (semi-)perfect for "Bustour," German artist Menja Stevenson's 2008 transit couture project, which has her creating lovely -- if stiff and uncomfortable -- outfits out of transit fabric and then riding trains, documenting the reactions of people who encounter her chameleonsuit look. (more…)