I've decided to start a blog about my travels in a quest to find a happy solution between sustainability and design. I have almost completed my Bachelor of Design (Fashion) at RMIT and was chosen along with 29 other students to showcase a collection at Melbourne Spring Fashion Week. It was an incredible opportunity to be witnessed by the public and be part of such a professional production. My Collection is titled 'Selvedge to Salvage', which represents my consideration for the full length of cloth- from its selvedge (edge) to selvedge and also Salvaging pre-loved and unwanted materials (japanese fabrics and leather). Whilst Im driven by exploring sustainable processes, my aim was to create garments that could be appreciated for their design qualities alone. I was inspired by the Kimono as it is a perfect balance of beauty and sustainability- luxurious fabrics, hand stitched detailing and made from rectangles of fabric that use the full width of the roll (approx 35cm).
image from www.immortalgeish.comTraditionally Japanese culture is very sustainable due to the preservation and care for materials and objects. Their garments incorporate alot of hand stitching and fabrics are often painted or hand dyed. Through my research i visited Japanese warehouses that stock all sorts of amazing bits and pieces... one of the most interesting things that i found was that many of the fabric rolls are actually old kimono's that have been pulled apart for reuse. I purchased a few different pieces and worked them together with fabric offcuts that were collected at uni. I have also used offcuts from saddlery leather that would have otherwise been thrown out. As my collection was based around using rectangles (from the kimono) i needed to find a way to shape the fabric to fit the body. Last year i was playing around with curtain cord as a way to finely gather material and decided to re- explore this technique. I also used pleating as a way to add texture and balance the draped silk. For my collection I collaborated with a local up and coming shoe maker Myra Spencer who has since gone to Milan to further her studies in footwear- she is incredible and the shoes made my collection- i cannot thank her enough. We tried to be as sustainable as possible using veg tan leather- a process that is a bit more environmentally friendly and she also incorporated off cuts into the design to get the most out of the hide we bought and have as little left over as possible. The wooden bases were made by my father using recycled wood :)
So there it is in a nutshell- almost a years worth of work....
These were the final 5 outfits:
Images from http://www.lucasdawson.com.au/main.php?g2_itemId=126437
Have a look at her site but she hasn't updated it in over a year and has done MANY incredible shoes since then. http://shoesbymyra.com/ShoesByMyra_sandals.html
