For our Explorations Project, we were able to explore our own passion and improve upon a particular skill set that addresses creativity, self direction, and social and civic responsibility. For my own project, I chose to work on fashion design and production, more specifically studying the environmental impact of the fashion industry and clothing sustainability.
My original project was going to be based solely on fashion design, using fabrics and old clothes I had around my house because I wasn’t able to go out and purchase materials due to the pandemic, and I didn’t want to place any non-essential online orders. This led me to the idea that I could use this project to advocate for recycling and reusing old clothes to reduce waste.
Process
Through this project, I learned how to produce fashion sketches, design my own clothing, measure, cut, and sew fabric to create a unique article of clothing. I gathered an old skirt and pants that didn’t fit me anymore and used the fabric from these items to create my piece. Because I was working with such limited fabric, I had to be really precise in the process. In the end, I created a shirt and recycled the leftover fabric scraps, all while continuously educating myself of the immense negative environmental impact the fashion industry has, and what we can do to reduce it.
I started off the project by creating some basic fashion sketches. I was surprised at how much precision goes into these because the body proportions have to be exact.
Next, I actually created a sketch of the design of the shirt I was going to be making. The arrow respectively signals which piece the fabric to make that part of the shirt is coming from (although I was originally using jeans as well, I decided not to in order to keep my fabric consumption as low as possible).
After some slight technical difficulties, I was able to actually start assembling the shirt. The sewing machine was somewhat tricky to use, but I figured it out fairly quickly.
Final product
Presentation Video
InfoGraphic
This infographic was put together using Adobe Illustrator.
Reflection
My intention with creating this project was to communicate that fashion should serve as an outlet of self expression, and I encourage everyone to see it as that instead of as “the chore of dressing yourself every morning”. However, I truly hope people consider the information I shared and re-evaluate their environmental footprint on this earth. Although this problem has no clear solution, we can all do our best to help this earth out. Some basic ways we can lessen pollution is by buying less clothes, buying more high quality clothing, mending severed clothes, and buying second hand. Instead of throwing out old clothing, donating it, recycling it, or passing it down as a hand-me down. We can choose organic fibers and natural fibers (particularly those with low water consumption such as linen and recycled fibers), and buy clothes made in countries with stricter environmental regulations for factories, such as the US, Canada, and Europe. Because if all 300 million Americans reused a SINGLE t-shirt, we’d save 210 billion gallons of water and 1 million pounds of C02. We carry a lot of power to make a difference, so let’s do something about it, and let’s make a positive change in this earth.
My explorations project helped me grow as an artist and as a person. I now have the skills to design, sew, assemble and mend basic clothing, and these I will continue to use for the rest of my life. However, I also gained a deeper perspective of my personal carbon and environmental footprint, and I know for sure I will be consciously trying to reduce it. I hope that with this new knowledge, I am able to educate others about the impact of fast fashion and how they can do their part to reduce it.