© Gigi Stoll
Trashcans are generic necessities in life. But add to them Veronica Webb’s creativity and dedication, and that simple vessel for unwanted goods becomes a brilliant design meant to inspire change and bring good to the community.
“When I first started out in fashion and first got to New York, the AIDS epidemic had just started,” says Veronica. “I would literally be working with people, and from one week to the next they would get sick and just die. This is before people really knew what was going on. So when I got a call from DIFFA (Design Industry Foundation Fights AIDS)—which is something I care so much about, the fight against HIV and AIDS—asking me to design a trashcan…” Well you get the point. The model teamed up with Danish company Vipp to create garbage cans à la Veronica.
With her participation, Veronica joins many great philanthropists, including Bono, Helena Christensen, and Ron Arad, who have put their spin on a bin. Veronica worked with interior designer Mary-Kate Davis to create an African-inspired piece. “The No. 1 issue facing people of color right now is actually AIDS. So I looked at this tall, thin can, and I thought: African neck rings, the kind that are used to elongate the neck. Then we started to riff on the idea from there,” explains Veronica.
© Gigi Stoll
Ten days later the newest bin was born. Looking at the construction from above, it’s like an intricately decorated mask, with single rings all down the base. “We used really simple materials to make the necklaces, and we went to the Senegalese mart on 116th Street and got the coconut beads for masks and the mud and we just started putting it together into the foundry. It turned out better than I ever thought it would.”
© Gigi Stoll
Veronica even went a step further and used the bin’s inspiration to create an image of herself. “I was trying to figure out if I had an exotic photo of myself somewhere in Africa or something, which I actually don’t have. So we just decided to do a body painting thing, with ring necklaces and things like that from Robert Lee Morris, who was kind enough to donate the jewelry.” The final product turned out to be a photo shoot with Nigel Barker, complete with body paint and necklaces all over, wrapping her arms, neck, and ankles. “I want it to look strong and healthy and beautiful. Keith Haring is going to be a big influence.”
Both her trash bin and photograph will be on display in the windows at Design Within Reach’s flagship Soho store leading up to the auction on October 28.
Special thanks to Nigel Barker, Hunsie Korpela from Scott J Salon for hair, M.A.C for makeup, Rodney Paul for styling, and Robert Lee Morris for jewelry.
See more images from the photoshoot here.
