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Wk3.2 Pecha Kucha Presentation

Above are the slides that I uploaded to show to the class. At this point I know for sure that I am looking into Timo Rissanen as my key theorist and maybe one of my case studies. I think I will also use Farrah Floyd as another case study. 

Feedback: I need to be looking at other designers methods, see lay plans etc. 

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Wk2.1 Zero-waste fashion design : a study at the intersection of cloth, fashion design and pattern cutting by Timo Rissanen

This text will be helpful to me as it explains the writer’s study of the zero waste process and methodology. I think I’ll be able to pull some good quotes and explanations, as well as statistics that ill be referring to. 

“Conventional design approaches waste approximately 15 per cent of the fabric used in the design and make of a cut and sew garment. e responsibility for this wastage belongs with manufacture, which is constrained by what has already been designed and pattern cut.”

“To what extent is a zero-waste approach feasible and desirable within contemporary fashion industry? is study demonstrates that zero-waste fashion design generates new opportunities for fashion design to engage with fashion manufacture that may not currently exist.”

“This study calls for fashion design to consider pattern cutting an integral part of the fashion design process. Such an approach to fashion design creates new opportunities for the fashion industry and fashion design education. Zero-waste fashion design is part of a larger picture of beauty for everyone, that fashion is capable of being the source of.”

“Through researching the French couturier Madeleine Vionnet for an undergraduate dissertation in 1999, I became aware that throughout history, various cultures had produced clothes in a way that wasted little or no fabric. “

“The way in which the fashion industry uses fabric to create garments is arguably wasteful and inefficient. For the garment manufacturer, a garment costs money to make and this cost is a sum of several parts. Generally the two most significant sources of garment cost are fabric and labour for construction (usually sewing). Fabric makes up approximately 50 percent of the cost price of a garment and labour 20 percent. It is therefore in the manufacturer’s economic interest to be able to make each garment from as little fabric as possible without compromising the fashion designer’s intent regarding garment appearance or fit. “

“To reduce fabric usage and cost prior to cutting the fabric, the pattern pieces are laid out on the fabric width as closely together as possible. A person may do this manually on paper, but increasingly appropriate computer software, such as OptiTex, Gerber or Lectra, is used to determine the most efficient cutting layout.”

“Even with up-to-date software or the most experienced and skilled manual marker-makers, in adult outerwear this fabric wastage varies from 10 to 20 percent. Cooklin estimates the average waste to be 15 percent of total fabric used, while Abernathy, Dunlop et al. give an estimate of 10 percent for trousers and jeans and higher for blouses, jackets and underwear. “

“Variation in the amount of waste (10-20+ percent) stems from a number of variables. ese include: a) the garment style (number, size and shapes of pattern pieces) in relation to fabric width; b) the number of garment sizes marked together in one marker2 and c) the exper- tise of the marker-maker (whether manual or computer-aided). In conventional industry prac- tice, the marker-maker is severely limited by what has already been designed and pattern cut. This problem lies at the heart of this research.”

“Key to this development would be to include pattern cutting within the practice of fashion design; currently the two crafts tend to be practiced separately.”

“a “fabric waste industry” of rag traders exists to trade in the off cuts produced by the fashion industry. This raises the question: Is the fabric waste really waste if it is a resource to be traded and used? In this study, the scraps left over when the garment has been cut will be referred to as waste because of the loss of original function.”

“Fabric waste can nevertheless be reused in a number of ways, for example by weaving rag rugs or making small items such as wallets.”

“If a separate small product such as a wallet is to be made from the waste, a problem arises: it is di cult to handle and store fabric waste while maintaining ease of cutting using conventional mass-production methods. Ideally the item should be cut concurrently with the garment, requiring that it is also designed and pattern cut before cutting the garment.”

“For economic reasons alone it would make more sense to produce the product concurrently with the garment.”

“these impacts can be partly revealed by life-cycle assessment, a tool that can measure the material and energy inputs of bre, fabric and garment”

“he criticised the wasteful Western way of cutting fabric, comparing it with examples of e cient cut in traditional forms of dress from around the world. Rudofsky noted that in many cultures fabric “was clothing itself,” “free of the curse of dress-making” “ (will need to research Bernard Rudofsky.)

“Burnham’s (1973: 3) thesis about waste is clear: “With today’s ease of manufacture we take textiles for granted and the wasting of cloth does not worry us. But for those closer to the processes of production the attitude changes, and an extreme economy of material was practised in the cutting of traditional garments. is does not necessarily mean that very little material was used. Extra and unnecessary length could be employed for purposes of opulence, but full benfit was obtained from it and nothing was left over.” 

“To what extent is a zero-waste approach feasible and desirable within contemporary fashion industry?”

“It is my hope that this study contributes towards further conversations about fashion design and fashion manufacture working together in new, more productive ways in the future.”

“Historical and contemporary examples of such designing show that it is possible to design without creating fabric waste, but the relative rarity of the contemporary examples suggests that barriers exist in fashion industry practices to the adoption of a zero-fabric waste approach. An important source of many of these barriers are the current systems used to manu- facture multiple garments. “

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Wk2.2 Class Notes

Workshop with Deb:

1. Deb will discuss "user centered research methodologies. This will lead into a class workshop on design methods and ethics. We will watch Judith Butler and Sunaura Taylor's ‘Examined Life’ and discuss. What other design research methods might you use?

User Centered Research Methodologies:

Ethics - taking time to consider others, responsibility when carrying out research

Context reviews - broader understanding, varied sources and perspectives and design methodologies.

Often the design isn’t about the people, the consumer, who’s actually buying it.

“Designers and design which are un-abling people”

“Beyond Seeing” - Sensory Fashion Design

The importance of definitions and terminology - leads to more informed understanding and sensitivity is communications of cultural, social and individual difference.

Universal Design vs Adaptable Design  

Design some good stuff but for everyone

Grace Stratton

What do I want to believe?  - evaluate key words and aim

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Wk2.1 ISSEY MIYAKE by Bonnie English

“By challenging convention as an aesthetic stance, he states, ‘I believe in questioning.’ For over forty years, Miyake has reinvented form, redefined the boundaries of clothing in both functional and aesthetic contexts, and rejuvenated new modern methods of clothing production.”

“he has embraced the new postmodern woman of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. He has shown her that, through the beauty of simplicity, clothing can be unaffected by the shifting tides of taste.”

“Miyake also sees clothing as something to use, and more recently something to renew or reuse. He has devised new ways of minimizing waste in clothing fabrication and sees the customer as his greatest collaborator.”

“Miyake placed great emphasis on the actual methods of construction of his garments, informing the buyer that there was something more to his clothing than just the superficial ‘skin’”

A-Poc

“Like the kimono, the main principle was not to cut into the woven cloth, but to respect the integrity of the material and to use its shape to house the body.”

“This series evolved from a conceptual basis that challenged existing conventions—it became another form of renewed clothing production. Lee, in her Fashioning the Future: Tomorrow’s Wardrobe, argues that ‘APOC proposes a radical rethink of fashion manufacture for the twenty-first century’”

“We are looking to people, not the fashion (community) and we are fascinated by technology. People have become consumers; they forgot the ways they can participate in their clothing. A-POC does that. It is important people participate in making their own clothing.”

“To me, it’s the future of clothing, the 21st century way of making clothes to use frameworks and technology to use cloth efficiently and beautifully’ (Graham 2007). Arguably, in both his Pleats, Please and A-POC ranges, Miyake has attempted to redefine the role of design in daily life.”

Source: English, Bonnie. "Issey Miyake." Japanese Fashion Designers: The Work and Influence of Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo. London: Berg, 2011. 9–36. Bloomsbury Fashion Central. Web. 05 Mar. 2020. 

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Wk2.1 “GLOBAL INFLUENCES: CHALLENGING WESTERN TRADITIONS” By Bonnie English

This text is about “The Work and Influence of Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo” which are some designers I am looking into that can relate to my area of work. Zero Waste originates from historical Japanese design of kimono and other traditional clothing. 

Deconstructionism: Rei Kawakubo (Comme des Garçons) and Yohji Yamamoto 

“‘Western fashion at the time was surprisingly conventional … they had a huge impact, creating a disruption of construction’ (in O’Flaherty 2009).”

“According to O’Flaherty (ibid.), people who took the new Japanese designers’ influence to London and New York included John Richmond and fellow London clubland prodigy Maria Cornejo, who started their 3D Richmond Cornejo label in 1984.”

“Richmond says,When I was growing up you couldn’t find black clothes. It was only with the Japanese that black really started. I love using black because I grew up in Manchester where the light always makes colour look grim.”

“For the Japanese, ‘deconstruction’ meant that seams did not just hold two pieces of fabric together but, when exposed, gave energy and dynamism to the design, and asymmetrical points created movement and an interesting imbalance.”

“Margiela did not make the old out of new but used the old and the used as it was. This form of deconstruction was not meant to elicit a deeper sociological message about poverty or oppression, but to create a unique art piece that showed signs of the time, an aestheticism of its own”

“Deconstruction encompasses a wide range of possibilities, both tactile and conceptual. Notions of displacement, taking materials from one place and recontextualizing them in another, are juggled with the dissection of parts, where the process is underlined and the partial completion becomes the end product. “

“wabi-sabi refers to the beauty of imperfect, transitory and unfinished things. It refers to the beauty of the unpretentious, simple and unconventional. It is anti-rationalistic and implies an intuitive world view; it aims at individual solutions that are specific to every object; uniqueness instead of mass production; organic forms; toleration of neglect and wear; corrosion and contamination used to intensify the expression; ambiguity and contradiction; suitability being less important. Beauty can be enticed out of ugliness. “

Martin Margiela - The Rag Picker 

“Like the Japanese designers, including Miyake, Yamamoto and Kawakubo, Margiela does not follow international trends, instead choosing to refine and recontextualize ideas formed in earlier designs and collections. “

“For instance, in one garment, one side may favour a hard, structured shape, while the other side may be soft and fluid. “

“With seams barely tacked together, Margiela’s clothing bordered on the disposable and seems to become a metaphor for transience and superficiality in contemporary culture. His first show, held in a Paris parking garage, had models with blackened eyes and pale faces walking through red paint which left their footprints on long sheets of white paper. This paper was used to make his next collection. “

“He gives the old, rejected and condemned clothes a new life. Old clothes have an emotional meaning for him, they are witnesses of the past, of life itself. The fact that the ‘new’ old clothes are not always finished (an unsewn hem or a frayed seam) is intentional, because what is unfinished can continue to evolve. “

“Margiela’s garments might suggest to the viewer that their mutability draws a parallel between the transient life of the work and of human existence. In other words, mortality is, in effect, paraded in front of us.”

Source: English, Bonnie. "Global Influences: Challenging Western Traditions." Japanese Fashion Designers: The Work and Influence of Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo. London: Berg, 2011. 129–166. Bloomsbury Fashion Central. Web. 08 Mar. 2020. 

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Wk2.1 Working Aim & Key Words

My Key Quote:

“There is potential for Japan to become a leader in the rapidly growing movement toward sustainability. The country’s culture, which embraces the idea of being in harmony with nature and motatanai (zero waste), provides basic values that encourage this trend.” - “Garment Manufacture and Retailing in Japan” by Hye-Shin Kim, Eunah Yoh and Eun-Young Shin. 

My Key Words:

mottainai, zero waste, consumption, circularity and responsibility

My Aim: 

Through the application of mottainai techniques, I will be reimagining the fashion industry’s current processes as a way to promote sustainable circularity. My aim is to research past and present consumption and ethical responsibility to further understand the need for zero waste cutting and draping techniques in everyday wear. 

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Wk2.1 Writing Workshop Notes

Writing Work Shop: Fashion Research Proposals - Structure & Tips for refinement

Research Proposals

What you want to investigate

Why it should be

How the investigation will occur

Your ideas - previous research - practical investigation

Not describing, advocating and justifying it (the method), it’s about persuading the reader

Markers want to know: why you did them that way, need to get across that justifcation, nothing should be ‘random’

Traditional Research Proposal Sections (see diagram on steam if not copied)

1. Title Page

2. Abstract

150-200 words, a small summary about work

3. Introduction / background

What prompted interest in the topic, as well as relevance to previous research

If needing an overview - make it short, why does my project matter? Argue that what i'm doing is innovative or thought provoking in some way

Other people’s work are the little bricks that you are contributing to the building, we need sturdy foundation to build upon

What is the narrative of my proposal? Narrative can be: personal, ethical or moral duty, or academic style, or combination of these all

Pathos writing style used to play to the reader’s emotions. Ethos writing style used to play with moral. Use statistics where possible to back up statements!! Logos writing style - non bias take, lets the reader decide what stance they want to take

4. Research aims / research questions

Set out your topic with all of the relevant key terms, repetition of keywords helps to bring it together. Explain what you’re doing and exactly how you are doing it. Identify keywords and then use them as a starting point for formulating your research question .

Work on making the perfect aim early, it’s hard to form a statement that is refined enough. ‘The 50 word challenge’ = aim be this short.

Provide focus for research, define scope, informs the methodology, and guides research and writing process

Ask yourself: is this feasible? Do I have the time and resources for this? Is this clear? Is it significant? Is it interesting? And is this ethical?

It might be too narrow if: it can be answered with yes or no, little information is out there, too specific like personal and obscure that it only interest to yourself

It might be too broad if: it doesn’t match your timeframe, implies a wider range of issues than you intend to explore, there is an unreadable amount of literature on the subject. Use a specific time/location/age range to help narrow your focus.

5. Planning grids (see on stream)

6. Literature review

Go see subject librarians, or go look at Library Demonstrations online

Have a good note compiling method; group it by theme, and then ranked by usefulness, annotate notes so it’s clear why a piece of info is useful.

When selecting sources, consider currency and canon. Older pieces might be helpful as they are influential and have shaped this topic.

7. Method

Describe approach, define and justify!

8. Ethics (not needed)

9. Timeline (may not be needed)

10. References

Writing Processes:

Madman: brainstorming, mind maps, visual planning 'anything goes’

Architect: creates order from mad men's' chaos, focus on  the big picture, plans how it flows as a whole

Carpenter: the writing stage, craft the sentences in paragraphs,

Judge: editing stage, inspect and critique writing, nit picking!!

Tips:

Edit as you go along

Start the writing process quickly, it’s the habit that matters

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Wk1.2 Designer Research: Farrah Floyd

Farrah Floyd is another zero waste brand. On the website it says: “Farrah Floyd is a Brussels based womenswear label. The label combines quality materials with emotional design to create pieces designed to be cherished by the wearer. The label is anti-seasonal and every collection is designed using a zero waste pattern making system. The designer uses only certified, sustainable materials and all production is done in Europe.”

This business model is a great example in the commercial fashion industry. I think many designers should be going in this direction; anti-seasonal and minimal (if not zero) waste in their collections. I picked this designer to look at because I like the aesthetic and unapologetic way of presenting sustainable fashion. 

The image above as well as this one is from the ‘Savage Boulevard’ collection:

These two images are from the ‘Room 1520′ collection:

And this last image is from the “Life is Elsewhere’ collection:

You can see through the timeline of Life is Elsewhere to Savage Boulevard the styles stay the same but just altered and made with different fabrics. The designer used pleating and gathers as well as strategic pattern cutting to make the pieces zero waste. On their website the technique is explained as: “The focus of Farrah Floyd is systematic zero-waste pattern drafting. All of the pieces are made using this special technique, which was developed and devised over many years by designer herself. The idea around this system is that every pattern piece is a rectangle of different dimensions, all fitting together in a grid like fashion across the entire width of the fabric so that no waste is leftover. When the pieces are put together, fitted and manipulated on the female figure, Farrah Floyds products form a unique, interesting silhouette – an item of clothing like you’ve never seen before.”

The designer’s name is Bojana Draca, who is “trained in both fashion and textile design and holding a Master’s Degree in Sustainability in Fashion.” 

This designer is a great example for me to look at, I so far haven’t found any more research regarding her work so I will further look into that. 

Image and quote source: https://farrahfloyd.com/about/

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Wk1.2 Designer Research: Dr Mark Liu

Dr Mark Liu “is a fashion and textile designer focused on advancing fashion design through the use of scientific principles to traditional techniques. His PhD research at the University of Technology Sydney applied modern mathematics to traditional fashion patternmaking to develop entirely new fields of fashion such as “Non-Euclidean Fashion Patternmaking”.”

“I have not released a zero-waste collection in years. However, I never stopped developing new zero-waste techniques or new collections. My zero-waste fashion techniques have vastly evolved since 2009 and I will release more in the future when the time is right…”

Even though Dr Mark Liu hasn’t released more zero waste design in years, he still works in pattern making and alternative ways in design. I wanted to include some images of how he worked to save that 15% of fabric that is usually wasted in the design process. His technique looks like it is based off of off cuts and crafting a piece from them, some also are based on flat pattern making and laying all of the patterns to fit to create zero waste.

He uses drape and experiments with texture. In his 2009 collection it explored “what is possible for a independent person to make if you were poor in the developing world and could not even afford to access a sewing machine.”

Source: http://www.drmarkliu.com/a1x1f7gosm4qfpbdqjhichblxu815o

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Wk1.2 Designer Research: Yeohlee Teng 

This is another designer who runs a brand based on zero waste techniques. I had a look through her website where she has Spring, Fall and The Fifth Season collections. 

The Fifth Season: 

Spring: 

Most pieces on over have a similar silhouette. I also notice they sell ‘essentials’ which is a great thing to see that consumers can purchase sustainable pieces that will be extremely versatile in their lives. 

I found that she has done a few exhibitions also which showcase her zero waste designs. 

Fashion Unravelled at Museum at FIT: “Fashion Unraveled is not your typical fashion exhibition. Rather than feature pristine clothes that exemplify a theme, a time period, or a designer’s aesthetic, it explores the roles of memory and imperfection in fashion. The exhibition also highlights the aberrant beauty in flawed objects, giving precedence to garments that have been altered, left unfinished, or deconstructed. These selections underscore one elemental fact about clothing: that it is designed to be worn and has, in some cases, been worn out. “

A second exhibition is Yeohlee | Serra, a marriage between fashion and art. “The Yeohlee designs in this installation are all virtuoso examples of her zero-waste practices. Three of the gowns were cut from just seven meters of heavy, double-faced satin. The Serra prints were made at the start of a fertile period of experimentation where he expanded conventional silkscreen processes that redefined surface structure, scale, density and depth of colour.” The first image in this post is from that exhibition as well as below.

I had a look through the website, and I found a link to an interview with Yeohlee at the Front Row: Chinese American Designers exhibition. This was interesting an gave me a good insight to what drives her zero waste process. Here are some quotes from the video:

“The idea of zero waste is something I grew up with. Because to me, the most successful and most universal design is a sarong. One size fits all - zero waste - it’s unisex.” 

“Math is really the foundation of design.” 

Image source and info source: https://yeohlee.com

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Wk1.2 Designer Research: Study NY

Study Ny is a zero waste brand started by Tara St James. “Tara has taught as a part of FIT‘s Sustainability Certificate, and has critiqued and lectured at Parsons, Pratt and FIT. Currently Tara is working as Production Coordinator and Research Fellow in the Sustainable Strategies Lab for Pratt’s Brooklyn Fashion + Design Accelerator. “

On their website it says they use responsible fabrics, ethical and local production in New York, only produce zero waste garments and promote slow fashion by slowing down production, and releases.

“Every dollar you spend, or don't spend, is a vote cast for the world you want." - L.N. Smith

Some images from the website:

2016 Campaign

2015 Campaign

2014 Campaign

On their website they also offer information about textiles, as well as classes and workshops and a few organic fabrics are listed for sale.

Images and Text Sourced: http://study-ny.com/home

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Wk1.2 Writing Exercise 1

Looking at one of the images you have brought to class write without stopping for 6 minutes answering each of these questions:

•      Why are you drawn to this image?

The silhouette is the most interesting for me, I can see the panel pieces and the way the model is standing seems really powerful. The colours, the shapes, the stance is really cool and I like the message underlying it. Sustainability, a fashionable way to be. Making use. 

•      What questions does it ask of you?

The wearability behind sustainable design. I can see right from the image that it possible to sell this style to many consumers. It makes me wonder the accessibility in alternative design and what that could do for the commercial fashion industry. 

•      What questions does it answer?

It answers the ability to design with zero waste. if Farrah Floyd can build a successful business model based on sustainability and zero waste it can be successful at a border scale. zero waste can flattering for the silhouette and can be commercial enough that it doesn't just belong to a niche market. 

•      What do you want to investigate ?

Zero waste, basing it off a sustainable and ethical business model. i want to see how we can make essential wearable pieces that are 100% zero waste. I want to push the commercial fashion industry to see how alternative design could work at a larger scale. 

•       Why it should be investigated?

Because we need to care for the environment. 15% of fabric is wasted in the design process. it isn’t economical, how can we as designers push that limit and find wearable and commercial pieces that can be based around a good business model. 

•      What are your aspirations for this project?

Create a (anti) seasonal collection that is 100% zero waste using rectangle draping techniques among other things like knitting to make essential versatile pieces that the average joe could incorporate into their wardrobe. its all about longevity and circularity starting off with an environmentally conscious design plan. 

Don’t stop for anything. Go quickly without rushing. Never stop or look back to cross something out… to wonder what word or thought to use, or think about what you are doing. If you can’t think of a word or thought just use a squiggle, or write, “I can’t think of it” and keep going. Just put something down and keep going….

Image: Farrah Floyd ‘Room 1520′ Collection. https://farrahfloyd.com/collection/room-1520/

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Wk1.2 “Every Little Counts” Article from Design for Longevity

I found this article when searching for the history behind zero waste methods. Here are some quotes that stood out to me: 

“It is a way of thinking – a philosophy that challenges the designer to use smarter techniques.” 

“Not only is this a waste of the natural resources used to produce these textiles, but also of the human labour invested in their realisation.”

“Draping and knitting are perhaps the most obvious methods. “

“Looking beyond individual designers and into the mass market, the commercialisation of zero-waste would be a huge step towards sustainability for the entire fashion industry.” – Ada Zanditon

“The concept of utilising the entire width of the textile is not a new phenomenon. It has long been used in the making of Japanese kimonos and Indian saris because it makes sense not to waste valuable textiles. However, it became less popular after the industrialisation of fashion and the emergence of mass-produced fast fashion.” - Ada Zanditon

“Traditionally, textiles were perceived as precious goods, not to be wasted. The scale was much lower in the production of raw materials, and many textile production processes were completed manually, which contributed to textiles being used to their optimum.”

“Through her (Holly McQuillan) research, she demonstrates how one piece of fabric should not be limited to one garment. On the contrary, in order to achieve zero waste, it is a good idea to combine multiple garments in one bolt of fabric, as illustrated by the featured image.”

This article is helpful, I think I will keep reading pieces from Design for Longevity’s website. It’s lighthearted and easy to understand, all with a high ethos. I am going to look more into Ada Zanditon’s work as I’ve already looked into Holly’s work from last year’s zero waste project. I was really hesitant to make my aim about targeting the commercial fashion industry because it’s such a huge task. I will get some feedback on this and see how I can go about it while still aiming this whole project at the commercial process... 

Source: “Every Little Counts” by Design for Longevity. Global Fashion Agenda. https://designforlongevity.com/articles/every-little-counts 

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Wk 1.1 - Quotes from Readings

“Garment Manufacture and Retailing in Japan” by Hye-Shin Kim, Eunah Yoh and Eun-Young Shin

This reading is about Japan’s processes in the fashion industry, it discusses the history, environmental practices and other topics. I focused on the sections where it talks about zero waste “Mottainai”. 

"Mottainai (もったいない) is a word that can't be translated easily, but has colloquial equivalents such as the English expressions, "What a waste!" and "Waste not, want not."” Basically it means to not waste a product. 

Here are the parts that stood out to me the most, I think I can research more into these. 

“Japan has made impressive contributions to the global fashion world through its creative and cutting-edge designers, innovative consumers, and technological advancements.”

“There is potential for Japan to become a leader in the rapidly growing movement toward sustainability. The country’s culture, which embraces the idea of being in harmony with nature and mottainai (zero waste), provides basic values that encourage this trend.”

“The Japanese people’s historical practices of making efficient use of kimono fabric throughout various recycled and reinvented uses from kimono, to children’s wear, to rags, and finally pieces for use as plaster mix, provides testimony that Japanese culture may already be in the vanguard of this movement.”

An example of Japanese company being sustainable: “Teijin, a progressive fabric manufacturer, is developing polyester fiber made of recycled fibers. About seventy companies in Japan that produce uniforms and sportswear have used Teijin’s recycling system. Also, Teijin has partnered with Patagonia and started the Common Threads Recycling Program, whereby Patagonia customers return their worn-out Capilene baselayers (long underwear) to Patagonia to be recycled into new garments.”

“Sustainability and Digitalisation” by Sandy Black

I thought this would be interesting to read, as we are moving into a digital world. Soon we’ll see more digital tech that goes into designing fabric and fashion. It doesn’t resonate with me s much but there are a few points which I find interesting. I took some examples of digital practices that show how it’s already being done in the industry. 

“After a slow start, digital marketing and e-commerce have now gained significant traction in the fashion industry, overcoming the initial skepticism that consumers would not buy clothing or accessories that they could not touch, feel, and try on.” - This is interesting because you can potentially sell a customer an item before making it which can reduce waste. 

“zero prototyping—that is, no actual sample garments are made but virtual patterns and photo-realistic simulations are created as 3D models using a suite of 3D CAD software packages to develop highly sophisticated renderings of designer fashion styles.” 

Sources: 

“The Many Meanings of Mottainai” 15 May, 2016. https://allabout-japan.com/en/article/2843/

Kim, Hye-Shin, Eunah Yoh, and Eun-Young Shin. “Garment Manufacture and Retailing in Japan.” Berg Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion: East Asia. Ed. John E. Vollmer. Oxford: Berg Publishers, 2010. 380–389. Bloomsbury Fashion Central. Web. 24 Feb. 2020.

Black, Sandy. “Sustainability and Digitalization.” The End of Fashion: Clothing and Dress in the Age of Globalization. Ed. Adam Geczy and Vicki Karaminas. London: Bloomsbury Visual Arts, 2019. 113–132. Bloomsbury Fashion Central. Web. 24 Feb. 2020.

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Week 1.1 Readings

Key Quotes from “Sustainability and Digitalisation by Sandy Black”

“There is a critical need for fashion research—both academic and industrial—to take a radical lead in shaping a more economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable fashion industry based on alternative paradigms and business models that harness new ways of creating and producing fashion, and engaging with consumers through co-creation and novel experiences.”

“After a slow start, digital marketing and e-commerce have now gained significant traction in the fashion industry, overcoming the initial skepticism that consumers would not buy clothing or accessories that they could not touch, feel, and try on.”

“Unmade is an award-winning start-up design company, founded in 2013, that in their own words set out to “revolutionize the fashion industry.”Working with the concept of fashion on demand, the company has harnessed the fundamental digital programmable capacity of industrial knitting machines to enable the creation of exclusive one-off knitwear pieces, at a unit cost similar to mass manufactured premium quality knitwear.”

“This is based on zero prototyping—that is, no actual sample garments are made but virtual patterns and photo-realistic simulations are created as 3D models using a suite of 3D CAD software packages to develop highly sophisticated renderings of designer fashion styles.”

“Revisiting the observations of Sarah Scatturo from 2008, the following still resonates: “If selectively and rationally embraced, technology can continue to serve the sustainable and ethical requirements of modern society, enabling ever sophisticated methods of clothing creation, consumption, and disposal.””

Key Quotes from “Garment Manufacture and Retailing in Japan by Hye-Shin Kim, Eunah Yoh and Eun-Young Shin”

“Japan has made impressive contributions to the global fashion world through its creative and cutting-edge designers, innovative consumers, and technological advancements.”

“There is potential for Japan to become a leader in the rapidly growing movement toward sustainability. The country’s culture, which embraces the idea of being in harmony with nature and mottainai (zero waste), provides basic values that encourage this trend.”

“The Japanese people’s historical practices of making efficient use of kimono fabric throughout various recycled and reinvented uses from kimono, to children’s wear, to rags, and finally pieces for use as plaster mix, provides testimony that Japanese culture may already be in the vanguard of this movement.”

“This cultural underpinning explains why an increasing number of Japanese companies are attempting to recycle used clothing, and the Japanese government has, in the early twenty-first century, begun to actively support this practice.”

“Teijin, a progressive fabric manufacturer, is developing polyester fiber made of recycled fibers. About seventy companies in Japan that produce uniforms and sportswear have used Teijin’s recycling system. Also, Teijin has partnered with Patagonia and started the Common Threads Recycling Program, whereby Patagonia customers return their worn-out Capilene baselayers (long underwear) to Patagonia to be recycled into new garments. “

Source: 

Black, Sandy. "Sustainability and Digitalization." The End of Fashion: Clothing and Dress in the Age of Globalization. Ed. Adam Geczy and Vicki Karaminas. London: Bloomsbury Visual Arts, 2019. 113–132. Bloomsbury Fashion Central. Web. 24 Feb. 2020. 

Kim, Hye-Shin, Eunah Yoh, and Eun-Young Shin. "Garment Manufacture and Retailing in Japan." Berg Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion: East Asia. Ed. John E. Vollmer. Oxford: Berg Publishers, 2010. 380–389. Bloomsbury Fashion Central. Web. 24 Feb. 2020. 

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Week 1.1 Utopian Bodies - Fashion Looks For The Future 

Some notes from the video that stood out to me: 

Utopia - hope for the future

What is possible in the future?

Circularity in design, recycled materials 

Change is possible

Imagination and possibilities

How we dress is a fantasy about ourselves, how we would like to be

Image: Screenshot from Utopian Bodies Video

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Week 1.1 Class Notes and Evaluating Previous Work

Class Notes:

Social, Cultural, Political, Historical. 

In imagination lies responsibility

What is my responsibility as a designer?

Li Edelkoort - The Guardian 

1. Take a project from last year. Reflect on your chosen project and note down what worked and what didn't work, what would you do differently or how could you extend this project? 

Zero Waste Project from last year. My aim was “to use zero waste techniques, to reimagine the manufacturing process practiced in the commercial fashion industry.” Ways I would rework my project from last year:

Apply a better and more organised process to my lay plans/methods surrounding that.

Find a more thoughtful theme other than basing it on ‘sustainable’ aesthetic.

Investigate commercial production in more depth.

Multi-wear; the pieces were based on longevity but how much more versatile am I able to make those pieces?

The ability to just use one lay plan? To be made into different garments, all depending on the construction process.

Could this be a pattern making business? Would we rather have a business that people buy the patterns and make their own pieces in a bid to help the planet?

Methodology - creating a lifestyle from the zero waste production to our wardrobes. 

Instead of a collection, a selection of wardrobe ‘staples’ to be made. - look into this and evaluate the current wardrobe staples.

2. Watch the 2016 exhibition 'Utopian Bodies, Fashion looks Forward'. Working with the "Utopian Bodies, fashion Looks Forward" exhibition choose one of the headings- this gives you a context to work from. Consider how would you rework your project from last year to work within this context? Would could this exhibition look like framed from within the context of Aotearoa?

I have chosen “Sustainability / Regeneration” as my context to work from. My project last year was based on sustainability, but I think I could do more to implement the regeneration part. Based off of the exhibition, I think it would be interesting to exhibit a way to promote being environmental - in an easy realistic way that most people can take away from. I had the idea about making the easy staples in zero waste or even promoting a lifestyle to combat the fast fashion that we are experiencing in Aotearoa. 

3. Discuss what a 'critical position' is in relation to the  topic areas from "Utopian Bodies..".

We as young designers know about the issues of fast fashion, we have this quaking anxiety about the environment. In relation to Utopian Bodies its a way for us to predict and influence how fashion can be in the future. Through the project i think it will be important to base my work in finding the key part in making fashion sustainable, helping people think on what they are wearing and how it contributes to the planet. 

Image: The Scope Dress, made and taken by me, 2019.