Taking inspiration from the ‘Vanishing Ice’ exhibition at the Weisman Art Museum and fashion’s true environmental impact on climate change, we were charged with creating a ready-for-the-runway garment that utilizes non-traditional, found, upcycled and recycled items that speak to us as a designer. For this project, we were asked to reflect on the following: What is the relationship between fashion and climate change? and What should the industry do to address the issue?
The project was to make use of at least one non-traditional material. That non-traditional material was intended to aid in the structuring or surface of your garment, without becoming a gimmick. The goal was to explore structural possibilities that non-traditional materials provide.
For this project, I was inspired by water pollution from the fashion industry, specifically the Citarum River in Indonesia. Despite the fact that Citarum River is one of the most polluted rivers in the world due to textile factory waste, millions of people still have to use the water from the river for their everyday lives. Most of the textile pollution from the Citarum is chemically based, as they were chemicals used in the dyeing process of creating textiles. Through images of children swimming in the polluted Citarum, combined with the eco-tourism theme from the Weisman’s ‘Vanishing Ice’ exhibit, I created a look that acknowledges privilege related to the consumption of water and fashion.
Design Notebook for the project. Testing out encasing liquids in plastic.
Material testing on a half-scale dress form.
Initial final sketch and plan for the coat.
Assembling the coat in the studio. Hand sewing and hot glueing.
I designed a base garment inspired by swimwear and an outerwear garment inspired by the work of Nadine Goepfert’s ‘Liquid Coat’. The base garments include a sweetheart bandeau top and a flirty circle skirt. The texture achieved on the front of the top is created using white plastic bags, while the circle skirt is created from a white nylon banner. The outerwear is a kimono-style patchwork jacket. The patchwork is made from plastic pouches that contain liquids to give the illusion of polluted water, hence why the primary color make-up of the liquids are variances of black, green, and blue. I learned while creating my own textile, that pollution is messy. The liquid materials within the pouches are very temperamental; some like to stay put and some like to leak out. You cannot contain pollution, no matter how hard you try.
