Language.

“re: use   re:make  re:value ”

I think I am:

re:claim

re:unite

re:make

re:value

The  current language of up-cycling is either industrial, but not in a grimy, interesting industrial way  or else eco-hippy overload.

This method of re-telling clothing recycling is  everywhere.

Re:value is an important aspect.  

The product is economically revalued and  the making skills are revalued.

unconsumption:

A carpet made out of discarded woolen blankets combining traditional needlework and floral patterns. Part of the collection “re: use | re: make | re: value” which is centered on the reuse and revaluation of discarded objects.

via studio Jo Meesters

Outline.

whitestump:

feli by soy un babar on Flickr.

Nutters of Savile Row and UpCycling

At Source (www.ethicalfashionforum.com) , I was expecting and hoping  to be inspired by products. Instead, it was the manufacturing process that the designers are using that is the unique selling point, not the product itself. 

Good product design is important, but in the ethical fashion conversation it is the story behind the product that is of more interest. 

The garment making is supporting a community and you are buying a better garment because of this. 

These were global stories, garment manufacture is supporting communities in The Himalayas, Pakistan, India etc, but not in the UK.

The handwriting of up-cycled fashion can be chaotic.  

The existing  message and the new communication are mashed together. 

We don’t quite see the current message as it has become confused. 

We can decipher parts, but the overall appearance is confusing. “I can’t read it, what does it say?”

At Source, the designers that were upcycling garments(www.fashionbymia.com) had a similar handwriting.Garments are hacked together, almost uncontrollably.

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The original garment’s details are uses as a surface feature rather than functionality. 

The garment design is disguised in the mash of different raw materials.

The product  is confusing and the idea that  this is a ‘better’ garment, is lost in the chaos.

I came out of Source expo disheartened, I had been hoping to be inspired by a variety of ethical fashion products. 

I travelled over to the Fashion and Textiles Meusem with not  knowing what exhibition was on.

http://www.ftmlondon.org/exhibitions/past/detail/?ID=67 

 

The secret world of 1960s Saville Row, had a  out of date and stuffy image. In 1969 Thomas Nutter opened a tailors that introduced tailoring to The Rolling Stones.

The bad boy of Saville Row took inspiration from previous decades attire, and produced the  flamboyant cut that we associate with the 1970’s.

The reuse of factory ( or tailors) waste could be expected at this time. A legacy from WorldWar II when  garments would have been hashed together and  disguised with embellishment. 

Nutter ‘s  use of clashing patchwork, from suiting fabrics, may have drawn on this, as a style reference or may simply have had pieces of fabric to use up. 

In today’s context it is a considered, carefully upcycled look.

The use of clashing fabrics painstakingly stitched together, without a raw edge visible, takes upcycled fashion another step away from sandals and hemp. 

Buy considering the placement of colours and using careful, traditional techniques, quality is maintained.

Taking this thought into up-cycled fashion could remove the hashed together look and add a high quality to the finished product.

PERF - Lasercut T-Shirts

These are just plain cool!

Denim Skirt.

This piece has been taken from two pairs of jeans.

Placing together the reclaimed panels to use the markings created by the previous lifes wear and tear.

The Content Cow.

A Non-Blogwriters Blog 

I am trying to piece together the content for the UniCycle website.I have delegated the design and want to take ownership of the content, the blogging and the telling of the world about my idea!

I am reading as much as I can , not easy with ankle-biters, husband, a new fixie-up house, but today is the day.

Its pouring outside, the fire is lit and the lego is out, so the rest is up to me.

www.good.is/post/a-tale-of-two-protests-why-slutwalk-works-better-than-occupy-wall-street

This article deconstructs two protests occurring in Washington at the same time. 

Q. Why go to one on your lunch break and not the other?

A. The message.

 One protest conveys a clear, focused message. It isn’t complicated and it hasn’t been contaminated with other information.

The messengers are recognizable citizens. You will invest  into the protest  because you can recognize yourself in the crowd. They are approachable, almost predictable, and you don’t feel intimidated by their presence.

I think these observations can be transferred to the writing for the UniCycle website. 

• I have a clear, strong focused message. It has take time to get to this, but I think “Saving Money, Saving the Environment” captures all that  I am trying to convey.
• I have simplified the message so that it is not diluted with other points. Originally I had also wanted to educate on ethical sourcing of garments, but this is a too complex issue to weave into the project.
• I am providing a solution to a problem and  not bouncing the problem up the food-chain.
• The simple ask hasn’t been  asked, because it is not a simple one!

 Another article that I am referring to is:  

http://blog.kissmetrics.com/copy-without-gimmicks

 This breaks down the writing process into 4 keys, with a lot of good tips in the mix.

 Focusing  on telling a story, rather than writing, has removed about 70% of the brick wall I was facing. I can do that! 

Using clear language to “speak human” and following my gut, (“if it doesn’t feel good to write, it won’t feel good to read”)  makes the process simpler with every key stroke.

 Following the Narrative Structure, I should be able to get the UniCycle story across so that readers can invest.

 The combination of these two articles have given me some beef get my teeth into!

I was invited by Ballyholme PTA to join in with their end of year uniform sale.

The sale was well placed in the outdoor classroom in the playground and as a result caught the passing parents picking up children.

The sale raised about £70 for the PTA in about 1 ½ hours.

It raised some interesting conversations.

Parent don’t pick up the older kids, they walk home. The majority of items sold were for the younger children.

The embroidered items where more popular than the basic shirts, skirts and blouses.

I was really pleased that the parents that used it didn’t question the idea of buying or using second hand items. The convenience and price was the winning combination that brought the parents in. The support to the PTA was also  important.

The advertising for this event was minimal. A few banners and posters could be a good resource that the school could borrow from my project to  highlight the event.

This was a great opportunity to see school uniform reuse in action and  who  engages with it.

Thanks to Lisa and Sam for eating me gatecrash!

IOU Project

In my presentation on Monday my Masters, I talked about a community based clothing label that narrates the product.

This project adds to this concept.  

Ethically made clothing that is given a QR code and a story applied to this code. The purchaser can engage through a website and view the manufacturing story. The wearers can then add their story into the community.

The concepts of this project are exciting and interesting. The restrictions in sizing availability are tackled along with the unique, one-off designs.

The website is easy to interact with and easy to follow, but will this be the case as more garments with stories are added and the community grows. Would the interest be diluted as the community and product base grows? 

Brain Saturation

The past 2 weeks have not been about doing but, about thinking about doing.

For a number of reasons, I had been on an a adrenaline hit and keeping busy.This is a mechanism for me when real life gets hard.

Real life has been getting easier and there have been a number of creative events to keep me occupied in a less frantic way.

These unconnected events carried the topic of Innovation.  

1.)CREATE/INNOVATE/SUSTAIN - Uni of Ulster (Symposium)Frances Courner (London College of Fashion) and

I was invited to this because of my focus on Sustainble Clothing design and that is what was spoken about. As I have researched this subject , the content was not ground breaking.

She spoke of the role of education in transforming the Fashion Industry from within, of the power of the fashion industry and the increase of consumption.

The facts used to illustrate the problems have clicked in with the development I have had for T-shirt communications.

The conclusion was that there needs to be new means of production and a new approach to consumers to help them re-value clothes.

Stephen Moore - AV Browne

This was a brilliant presentation on the advertising company.

 It  tackled the problem of “bringing people along with you.” and helped structure  where I am with the Unicyle project.

2.)CREATING INNOVATION - Blick Studios(Workshop)

This was a workshop to introduce methods in idea creation. It was all about the Sharpies and Post-its. 

A good skill and method to carry forward.

3.)FROM EXPERIENCE- creating objects,interests and interactions(Symposium)

This was a 3 day event with a Symposium on the second day.

The speakers at the symposium  where  of interest, but I found it very hard to follow the artists presentation. The talks delivered by Educators  where more informative and I was able to take knowledge from them.

Getting garments made for the Totally Bazaar. 

I am up-cycling mens shirts to make vintage inspired ladies garments and accessories.

This uses to be a ninetofive garment now it is ready to be flashed about town.

Style Not Trend

My first event as my own brand/label is in 2 weeks time.

I will be exhibiting  Bazzaar Vintage on the ¾/11. This is a Vintage Fair with Aprils’ Event focusing on Eco/Upcycling goods.

I have been working on products to sell, but also how and what  I want to communicate.

The link, "Carving a Niche in the Fashion Industry",  is from a designer, Chelsea Jones, debuting her line at Style X,  the fashion expo attached to  SouthXSouthWest.

The piece has posed a number of questions and given me answers. 

Q.How do you stand out?

A. Being original, with strength and being well placed. (What does well placed mean?) Tell people where to look.

Q. The product ?

   “beautiful design, easy to decipher, that can be returned to be developed”

 When I began thinking about products, I had 8 different concepts. Dresses, Re-embellished Tees, jean/skirts. All based on upcycled garments.

 Clothing fairs/vintage fairs  have a wide range of different products every where.

With eight different types of garments my space would be confusing and the communication would be complicated with no strong story.

I have taken this eight and taken down to 1 idea…mens shirts.

Q. Individuality or Trend Driven?

  "StyleX focus on style not trend…reaching the public, not the elite"

A. I completely agree with this, individual style is more important. The public has more power than the elite. My garments enter the discussion of a new fashion industry so they have to be worn and create a discussion. If they are high-end fashion they will not be worn.  They have to be stylish over trend followers. 

Q. Is Quality and Craftmanship more important than quantity?  Paris fashion began with beauty and innovation, rather than “taking inspiration from a stock of borrowed ideas”

So where does this leave me..

A product that is reclaimed and inspired by the existing garments. 

Utilizing all the original  parts.

Inspired by quality and craftsmanship.

What caught my attention  with this photo commentary, was the use of zips

Usually functional,practical,  zips are a bit dull.

Sarah Burton has used the to sculpt and shape,beautifully feminine shapes that contradict The Zip.

Zips add a 2nd life to a garment , 1st the jacket is open, then it is closed. The trousers are long, then they become shorts.

Ruffeo Hearts Lil Snotty collaboration combines these 2 elements. Using the Zips function a dress has been designed that can be worn a number of ways.

By zipping, interacting, unzipping, a simple shaped black dress moves into something else. Relying on the imagination and inhibitions  of the wearer to manipulate and twist  it into something else

Vintage up-cycled fashion creeping in where you don’t expect it.

This is food historian Gerard Baker in a upcycled waistcoat.

How do I know?

 I have a table cloth in the fabric, inherited from my mum, who inherited it from her mum. We have dated the fabric at 1950s/60s.

I wonder if he knows the history and relevance behind the garment he is wearing?