The Centre for Sustainable Fashion at the London College of Fashion
I so want to go back to school right now. Yes, I know that I just graduated and I already have an expensive enough hobby, having collected several unrelated degrees that are of no use in the real world. However, should I ever have my chance to fulfill my dream of learning fashion design, I am so going to this school! What makes this school so unique is that it focuses on sustainability in the fashion industry. They are askign designers to think about what fashion really means to society and then distilling those notions and paring them down through more earth-friendly practices including, but not limited to: factoring in the true cost of production (rather than just pumping out, cheap throw-away styles and continually innovating and sharing the knowledge gained through new approaches. The section of their vision that I find most interesting reads, “Put human well-being at the heart of fashion production and consumption. Changing fashion practices to improve well-being of workers, consumers, designers, and producers is central to a more sustainable future.” This is an admirable goal and one that I hope, for all of our sakes, can be taught to the forward-thinking design students who will shape the goals of our collective fashion future.
Bio-couture: The Future of Fashion?
photographer Santiago Arribas Peña from the Science Museum
I stumbled upon a link to the BioCouture research project and was intrigued by what I found there. From what I’ve found by looking through the various photos on the website is that the goal is to radically change the clothing industry to address the ecological impact and the sustainability of fashion in the future. There have been a number of movements in the last few years to reduce the environmental impact of the immensely destructive chothing industry. Recycling and Refashioning have challenged the way that fabrics are viewed and used. Organic and Fair Trade seek to address the economic and ecological devastation visited upon developing countries. However, this BioCouture movement may just be the most radical yet. They have created and are using a new type of fiber, bacterial-cellulose combined with natural fruit, vegetable and spices to dye the material. Their website, which seems unfinished, does show some completed pieces including a “Veggie” Biker jacket decorated with and a “denim” shirt stained indigo with natural colorants. What I’m most surprised to see if that most of these materials are dated 2007.
Under the “links” section is the equivalent of an “About” page that lists information about the project team members. These include an author, Suzanne Lee, and a Dr. who serves as co-director of a Biotech firm funded by a grant from The Research Centre for Fashion, the Body and Material Cultures. You can purchase a copy of Ms. Lee’s book, published in 2005, on Amazon: Fashioning the Future
Curran by Cellucomp (UNITED KINGDOM) is a high-strength biofiber formulated from degraded carrots with a stiffness that rivals carbon fiber. The material is remarkable for its capacity to enhance sustainability in a wide range of applications where lightness, maximum performance, and durability are crucial, from consumer products to aeronautics.
In poking around the internet a bit more, I was able to locate the new, updated website for The Biocouture project website. An update on the homepage indicates that the new BioCouture jacket is on display at London’s Science Museum in the Wellcome Wing. The jacket will appear in a new exhibit titled, “‘Trash Fashion: designing out waste’” beginning June 2010 through February 2011.
I’ll continue to follow the exciting developments of the BioCouture project. I love the idea of growing fabric from bacteria using environmentally-friendly manufacturing practices. Perhaps one day I’ll be able to buy new clothes without damaging the earth. Until then though, I’ll just keep refashioning the clothes I recycle from Goodwill.
Easy Refashion: Dress + Tshirt = Fold-over Waistband Skirt
This tutorial is short, sweet and perfect for a beginner. I’ve made variations of this skirt at least five times already this year and I never grow tired of the supremely comfortable, soft and stretchy fold-over waistband skirt. I am petite which means that dresses rarely ever fit me right. My proportions just aren’t the industry standard. I do however, frequently fall in love with the pretty fabric of dresses at my local thrift store and this is the solution to my former dilemma. For this refashion I used a thrifted dress with a cute floral pattern that was ill-fitting and had a few stains on the bodice. I also used a tshirt that had bleach stains and underarm stains, but would still had enough usable fabric to form a waistband.
Here’s what you’ll need to get started:
- Cutting tools (pinking shears, fabric shears and a rotary cutter). If you don’t have all of these, you can get along just fine with a simple pair of shears or scissors.
- 1 Dress that will fit comfortably over your thighs. Take a dress that you want to work with and hold it up to see how it will look as a skirt. If it looks good, move on.
- 1 tshirt that fits comfortably around your waist and over your hips.
- Sewing machine or needle and thread
- Ruler or Cutting mat (or both)
- Tailors Chalk
How-To DIY:
1. Hold the dress up to your body and determine the length by folding it where you want it to hit on your waist. I chose to make my new skirt knee length. I folded in half and then marked with chalk. Cut the dress through all layers just above the line.
2. Measure 5″ from the bottom of your tshirt. This will create a fold-over waistband that is approximately 2″ wide. Mark with chalk, then cut through all layers to form a tube.
3. Slip the skirt into the tshirt tube and align the seams. The bottom hem of the shirt should be facing down toward the hem of the skirt. The right side of the dress (pretty side) should face the wrong side of the tshirt tube (inside).
4. Gather and pin the skirt to the tshirt tube waistband. Start by pinning the skirt seams to the tshirt seams. Next pin the center and then gather and pin at 1-2″ intervals until the skirt is secured to the waistband. You may need to gather and form a few small pleats if the skirt is wider than the waistband. You can do this at random around the waistband by spacing them evenly. You don’t have to be precise. Ensure that the top of the skirt meets the top of the tube.
5. Sew the waist band to the skirt using a zig-zag (or other stretch knit stitch). The zig-zag stitch allows the waist band and skirt to be stretched without breaking the thread. If sewing by hand, use the whip stitch.
That’s it! You’re done! See how easy that was? Now, just slip on your skirt and fold over the waistband so that it hides the top layer of stitches. Do a little dance, twirl around and show your friends and family how cool you are. You just made your first fold-over waistband skirt from a dress and a tshirt; how exciting! If you are lucky, you may even get a warm compliment like the one I received from my daughter, “Wow mom, it doesn’t even look like you made it!” 
Baltimore Clothing Stop & Swap
Boy am I sorry I didn’t see this sooner! I was posting a comment on the Baltimore Sun this morning and to the right saw and ad for the Baltimore Clothing Stop & Swap. I had never even heard of this, but I was immediately excited. Woohoo, someone is organizing clothing swaps in my very own city! I love clothing swaps because you can shop for free and reducing your carbon footprint by reusing the clothes that someone else no longer wants. I love to swap out my closet at least twice a year and since I discovered clothing swaps I don’t have to feel bad about it anymore; It’s glorious. I clicked on the link and noted that they were having a swap this Saturday, May 1 from 10am – 6pm in Mt. Vernon. I’ll be out of town on Saturday celebrating my Dad’s birthday, so unfortunately I’ll have to miss this one. The good news? They are traveling all over the city (and have been since early April) through the middle of May. I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled for the next swap so that I can spruce up my wardrobe for Spring. The Baltimore Clothing Stop & Swap has it’s own website here where it says:
Baltimore Clothing Stop & Swap:
Style & Sustainability Through Common Threads
April 18 – May 17, 2010All ages, genders and sizes are welcome to participate in a new kind of shopping experience that benefits the environment and the Baltimore community. Donate, trade or take clothing and accessories in an exciting, outdoor, store-like, money-free exchange. (Even if you do not donate, you may take up to three items!) The Baltimore Clothing Stop & Swap will travel to a variety of locations throughout Baltimore city for one month.
The swap is free and open to the general public.
Their mission is simple, “The Baltimore Clothing Stop & Swap’s mission is to raise awareness about recycling, focused on secondhand clothing and accessories, through an exciting and free service that benefits the environment and brings together the Baltimore community.” There are two very important differences from the little clothing swaps that I attend (usually put on by friends at my local bar/restaurant The Parkside):
1. You can only bring Ten (10) items to donate
2. You have to tag your items
Still, choosing only ten preloved items to donate may be the hardest part and if shopping for free means that you have to fill out some little paper tags I think it’s worth it.
Here are the remaining events; see you there!
Saturday, May 1
Mount Vernon Park, North Square
699 North Charles St
Baltimore, Maryland
10 am – 6 pm
JUST ADDED:
Sunday, May 2
Baltimore Farmers’ Market & Bazaar
Underneath the Jones Falls Expressway at Holliday & Saratoga streets
7 am – noon
Sunday, May 9
Patterson Park (specific address not yet determined)
10 am – 6 pm
Friday, May 14 – Monday, May 17
Maryland Institute College of Art, Mount Royal Station, Frost Plaza
1300 Mount Royal Ave
Baltimore, Maryland 21217
Fri: 11 am – 8 pm
Sat-Mon: 11 am – 5 pm
WorldofGood.com
I occasionally pick up crafting items/fabric from Ebay because I can get a used tshirt with free shipping for less than at my local Goodwill (which can run in excess of $4.00). Today, while perusing the site I came across a new section of Ebay called World of Good. The “About” section says, “WorldofGood.com by eBay is the world’s first online marketplace to convene thousands of People Positive and Eco Positive sellers and products all in one place, empowering you to shop in ways that align with your personal values. Respected, independent organizations verify the positive impact every product has on people and the planet. Our goal is to ensure that every choice you make here is a good one”.
WorldofGood.com breaks products down into four categories: People Positive, Eco Positive, Animal Friendly and Supports a Cause. People Positive ensures that “producers get great new opportunities”, or fair-trade practices. Eco Positive, are “good products for the planet” or what you think of as “green” items (ie, recycled, refashioned, use conservation-based raw materials and/or production methods. Animal Friendly and Supports a Cause are pretty self-evident in their product descriptions.
This new method of buying and selling is intriguing and I’m going to look into becoming a seller and I hope that this categorization helps people to more easily make informed decisions about the products they buy and how they affect the world around them.
Here is a link to the press release issued on September 3, 2008, “eBay Launches New Online Marketplace for Ethically Sourced and Eco-Friendly Products”.
Featured in Creepy Queen Magazine!
Can I tell you that I am just the happiest little nerd in the universe today! I logged into my Etsy account this morning to find that I had a convo from a writer at Creepy Queen Magazine contacted me to says, “Hey! I write for an online magazine/blog called “Creepy Queen Magazine”. We fell in love with your reuseable snowman gift bag and have featured it in our next article/blog post, called ‘Though The Weather Outside is Frightful..’, all about snowy items on etsy!” Boy was I stoked and I went to learn a little more about the site and learned that:
CreepyQueen is an online magazine/blog that spotlights the indie alternative. It is our aim to provide free promotion to small businesses, diyers, industry professionals, and alternative crafters.
How freaking cool is that?! I’m so excited to learn that there is another whole community of alternative fashion people out there who particpate in and love the DIY life as much as I do. So check out the article where they featured my bag and some really other cute items with a winter theme “Though the weather outside is frightful” and pick-up some adorable handmade Christmas gifts for your friends and family and learn a little bit more about the DIY fashion community by reading the blog or signing up for their online magazine newsletter.
