Lost and Found

Dance and Fashion Show - October 5th and 6th, 2024

60 min - Lost and Found is a layered (literally and figuratively), interdisciplinary evening length performance. In their second dance-fashion collaboration, choreographer Eliza Malecki and stylist Mary O’Keefe came together to create and produce a dance fashion show featuring professional dancers and models wearing entirely secondhand clothing that celebrates the personal histories attached to our clothing and examines the complex emotions wrapped up in the act of getting dressed in the morning. In examining the concepts of thrift and lineage, we acknowledge the power of sustainability, personal memory, and the profound impact that clothing can have on our sense of self.

Funded by the Somerville Arts Council, Newton Arts Council, and Dunamis Boston.

Lost and Found features dancers Erica Codd, Katrina Conte, Jillian McLaughlin, Rajita Menon, Simon Montalvo, Sarah Pacheco, and Meredith Price and models Arlette Dervil, Merline Fleur, Alicia Lin, Crystal Njoroge, Jeannette Rosario, Sarah Shattuck, and Emma Titus.
Video by Mark Sun

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/10/01/arts/dance-fashion-show-vintage-clothing/

Museum of Fine Arts Boston

“Dress Up” Exhibition - April 13–September 2, 2024

“Dress Up,” an exhibition of fashion and costume jewelry just opened at the Museum of Fine Arts, exults in extravagance while embracing illusion. There’s a clue in the title, and more in the content: Costume — or more bluntly, fake — jewelry, fashioned from plastic, tin, rhinestone, and whatever non-precious else, is for the most part made to deceive — an aspirational mimic, removed from the real thing. Extend the metaphor, and one could argue it’s what any of us does, every day, not only by pulling on clothes, but by any means of projecting a version of ourselves out into the world. A quote from Ru Paul on the wall sums it up nicely: “We’re all born naked, and the rest is drag.” That’s what “Dress Up” is about.” - Murray, Whyte; The Boston Globe (4/19/24)

Consultation/collaboration with curators theo tyson and Emily Stoehrer. Worked closely with MFA Teens program to educate young artists on styling as a profession, as well as styling/posing teens for a photoshoot with Jaypix Belmer to be displayed in the exhibit. Provided text on the pairing of jewelry with fashion.

MFA Dress Up

Boston Globe Review

Over and Over - Park Sunday

Directed, Written, Edited, and Colored by Esli Israel

Zig Zag Productions

“Traffic Jam”

Fashion show for 5one7 Beauty featuring the designs of WOWQING, combining dance and fashion. Produced by Zig Zag Productions founded by Eliza Malecki and Mary O’Keefe, styled by Mary O’Keefe, choreography by Eliza Malecki, makeup by Mark White, founder of 5one7 Beauty. Video by Esli Israel.

“my shirts all shrunk”

March 13, 2026

my shirts all shrunk is a whimsical dance theater work that is rooted in the belief that style is inseparable from identity - that what we wear, how we move, and the choices we make are expressions of who we are and who we’re becoming. The title speaks to the experience of squeezing into a shirt, an identity, or a container that was never designed for you. As we grow into ourselves, the spaces meant to contain us become too small, revealing a need for something larger, something that allows us to fully inhabit the space we deserve. The piece centers an all-queer cast/creative team and explores the desire to stand out, the fantasy of becoming the next version of yourself, and the power of self-presentation as a form of self-knowledge. It examines what it means to “dress queer,” not as a single aesthetic, but as an ever-evolving expression of identity, resistance, joy, and possibility.

Choreography: Eliza Malecki,
Performers: Aliza Franz, Dawn Stitt, Eliza Malecki, Izzi King, Miranda Lawson, Olivia Blaisdell
Dramaturgy: Desiré Graham
Styling: Mary O’Keefe

This project was made possible by the Boston Center for the Arts Dance Lab Residency, the NEFA Dance Fund, and individual donors.

Notes on a Thread

Notes on a Thread combines the passion of four artists uniting the mediums of music, fashion, hair styling, makeup, and photography to bring awareness to the ways the fashion industry contributes to climate change. Each collection of photographs, including the styling, hair, and makeup, is inspired by a piece of Western Classical Music. By presenting creative stylings in secondhand clothing, Notes on a Thread hopes to change society's perception of secondhand clothing in order to encourage environmentally responsible fashion. The result will be multiple collections of uniquely themed photographs that highlight the vast range of creative potential available with secondhand clothing and the intersection of fashion and classical music.

The photos below represent the following repertoire: