Jamie Hayes’ interests lie at the intersection of fashion, art, labor,
and identity. Her approach is both collaborative and customized. She
believes that clothes should fit one’s body (not the other way
around); that people should wear what flatters and interests them
rather than what someone else dictates is fashionable; that style is a
form of self-expression; and that everyone in the chain of production
of clothing should be paid a living wage.

She has explored these topics through her academic studies, earning a
B.A. from Washington University in English Literature, a B.A. from
Columbia College in Fashion Design, and a Masters in Social Work from
the University of Chicago. She has worked in the fashion industry
since 1999, and in the field of immigrant and labor rights since 2009.
Her recent work merges these two paths: she has designed for fair
trade organizations in US, Latin America, and Asia, and has
volunteered as a Campaign Leader for Chicago Fair Trade, helping to
pass an ordinance mandating that apparel procured by the City of
Chicago be sweatshop-free. She is the owner and designer of an
ethically made line of clothing for men and women called Production
Mode and also co-designs a line of luxury slow fashion lingerie and
nightwear, Department of Curiosities.

Jamie believes that as much as we embody our clothing, our clothing
can perform and embody our identities. It is in this spirit that she
would like to approach the NJAPF project with her patrons/muses. The
project could be similar to her previous collaborative art/fashion
projects on view at jamielhayes.com, wherein she and her collaborators
have explored identity, social practice, and a portraiture via the
medium of clothing and fashion.