Fashion Issues

This semester we've had a module called Fashion issues... Here is my work:

Fashion Issues Review

For the Fashion Issues module we were firstly in small groups where we discussed all and any issue we could think of with the fashion industry. This ranged from consumer problems, such as size or age, to concerns to do with the environment. However, from the very beginning of this module, I knew the topic I wished to address, as it is one I am passionate about. I decided to focus on the issue of ethics within the fashion industry. This is a large subject as there are so many different issues that could come under the umbrella of ‘ethics’ and, of course, what may be moral to some, may be less important to others. For example, you might think choosing organic silk is the ethical choice, however, for those who believe strongly in animal rights the problems arising from centuries of inbreeding, and the treatment of the larvae at the hands of the silk harvesters is definitely not ethical.

Because of this, I determined to look into the branches within the tree of ‘ethical fashion’ that I was most interested in, and thought was more of an issue both in the industry and commercially. After attending a seminar about ethical fashion, I became intrigued with the idea of ‘upcycling’, where you re-use materials to make something of more value, as opposed to recycling where quite often the value of the product was decreased. I felt that this was important to both the designer and consumer. I am also concerned by the globalisation of the industry. There is a place for it, but unfortunately of an ecological viewpoint, it makes very little sense to be transporting goods from a factory in India, to the UK, then back out to other parts of the world through distribution. As a result, I wanted to look at the British fashion industry, and felt that the wool industry in particular was important and fitting with my aesthetic.

I started out by looking at jewellery, and designing with the idea of using degradable products like wood, natural and reconstituted materials such as wool, and upcycling materials we no longer needed, in this case, broken tiles. I got my inspiration for this in particular from a photograph I had taken of Gaudi’s Park Güell in Barcelona, where broken tiles had been used to create seating and add interest to roofs etc.

The outcome of this, and of my research, was what I feel to be a very organic and natural feeling collection, making use of organic and ethically man-made fabrics, recycled and reconstituted wool and yarns, and jewellery made from upcycled products such as tiles, and laser cut wood. The colour scheme (cream, sky blue, reddy-brown, earthy green and pastel pink) was taken from a broken-floral tile, forest floors, and a breed of orchid that happens to be called ‘Alice Goodman’!

I feel that my collection is unique in the fact that it uses both the idea of upcycling, and also organic and ethical materials to create fashion forward pieces for any occasion.