My introduction to FEMA came, appropriately, at a Halloween party, where I met Izzy Reeves, the founder and driving force behind the project. Her brief but haunting pitch imagined an apocalypse that wiped all men from the earth. With the patriarchy erased, what kind of world would remain? This concept takes vivid form in her garments and paintings, offering a glimpse into that imagined reality and the women who inhabit it. As the online algorithm begins to turn its attention toward FEMA and anticipation builds around her debut collection, there’s never been a better time to buy into FEMA stock.

How would you explain the core of FEMA?

It sort of evolves and changes. I like it being this naturally forming entity. I decided that I wanna go into speculative and concept work; it was just trying to find a space that I could organize these ideas into. I do like working with patterns, things will just pop up and things will connect. I don't have much of a say over it.

I've noticed a lot of alien stuff recently starting to pop up in your work. Could you explain the thought behind that?

A friend introduced me to H.R. Giger many years ago, that was pretty revolutionary for me. I always looked up to the sky and wondered what was going on up there, I like thinking about aliens on different planets and their environments. I'd wonder if there were ever universal ideas and constructs that would transcend the galaxy in terms of, like, aesthetics and stuff. So, yeah, the alien stuff was always there. I was just waiting for it to come to the surface a bit more.

Is there a specific approach to your style? Is there anything you can rely on when producing new work?

I like looking at a lot of surrealist artists. Many artists of the previous century have been good starting reference points, definitely. But, I mean, I don't even know where inspiration comes from. I think it starts with the organic features of human body and the forms from our planet and then it just sort of spirals from there, I'd say.

What was your earliest introduction to art and fashion?

I don't remember a time which I wasn't painting. It was just always in the cards for me. For fashion, I designed clothes when I was younger but so many so many young girls love designing clothes. It was very much a collective thing. However, it was the it was the painting first and foremost. That's my passion.

Do you not remember the first bit of art or fashion that made you go, wow?

I would actually say Disney animation. Yeah. I'd never seen anything more satisfying, the form and movement being drawn in the way that it was. The old animation style of Disney was just so beautiful.

Do you have any current major fashion influences?

Actually, this painter called Alberto Burri, he was Italian and was ever so slightly postwar. But he didn't do fashion, he worked with raw materials. I'd never seen the destruction of raw material like that. It was completely limitless and had no bound to it. There's something about the rotting, molding or a destruction of a piece; I just thought that was what I would like to see on clothes.

We spoke a couple months ago about Vanessa Beercroft. You sent me some of her work with Yeezy. How did that inspire you?

Oh yeah, from a color palette. Skin tones can be paired with any other color, it has a harmony to it. There is something about skin tones I find fascinating because our bodies are wrapped in those colors, right? If it's done well, you can pair it with any other color on the color wheel.

What makes a great piece of clothing?

Something you feel good in.

Do you believe in God?

I don't believe in the creator God, but I do believe in some force. I do believe that exists inside of everything.

What does the afterlife look like to you?

Oh, I actually really like reincarnation. I think that your soul is sort of left in some sort of limbo until the next, but I will never know truly.

How do you define success, what does success look like to you?

Gosh. In a world of chronic dissatisfaction, it's probably just feeling satisfied. But, I mean, I don't know if I even agree with that. Success, I don't know. I wouldn't know how to define it yet.