Fashion Design

Fashioning the Future Award winners announced, London

November 23, 2011
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Fashioning the Future Award winners announced, London

On November 10th, the Centre for Sustainable Fashion (CSF), at London College of Fashion, announced the winners of this year’s Fashioning the Future Awards — themed UNIQUE. Congratulations to Ashley Brock (United States), Sara Emilie Terp Hansen (Denmark), Evelyn Lebis (Sweden), Christian Frank Muller (Germany) Alice Payne (Australia), and Lara Torres (Portugal). Here is a taste of just two of the award winning entries (now added to the ‘Projects for Change’ collection on the left): “Man sinking to the floor” from “An impossible wardrobe for the invisible,” by Lara Torres, is “a video installation showcasing water soluble clothing in order...

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ATTEND // (sustainable) Fashion’s Night Out, New York

September 8, 2011
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ATTEND // (sustainable) Fashion’s Night Out, New York

If you’re in New York, check out (sustainable) Fashion’s Night Out, hosted by EcoSalon, Of Rags, NYC Fair Trade Coalition and Textile Arts Center. Not just for an evening of shopping and celebrating, but also education! FREE education! “(sustainable) Fashion’s Night Out is a collaboration that celebrates sustainability’s place in the fashion world and in the global economy. The term sustainable is in parenthesis for the event title because this word itself is not the focal point of the event, rather, the evening aims to show that anything fashionable should simply make a positive impact and not need a qualifier to differentiate...

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Otto von Busch Hacks Fashion Theory

September 2, 2011
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Otto von Busch Hacks Fashion Theory

As you know, we’re huge fans of Otto von Busch for his innovative work and research in ir/responsible fashion and hackivism. In a recent project, Otto hacks fashion theory through a series of small booklets. We’ve just added them to our required reading list and so should you! “Fashion is the celebration of the immediate future. By being constantly new, fashion indicates that the future can be something else, and it pulls us there, by force almost, promising the endless possibilities of the new, the unwritten, our possible better self.” (The Virus of Fashion, Axel Trumpfheller and Otto von...

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Mass Faintings, Fixed-Duration Contracts and the ILO’s Better Factories Cambodia Program

August 30, 2011
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Mass Faintings, Fixed-Duration Contracts and the ILO’s Better Factories Cambodia Program

You’ve likely followed the mass faintings of garment workers that have taken place in Cambodia this year. While most reports have cited gruelling working conditions and worker exposure to toxic chemicals as likely causes, reasons for the faintings remain unclear.  - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - Fast Facts // Cambodia “The face...

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Co-design with Jen Ballie at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London

August 24, 2011
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Co-design with Jen Ballie at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Join Jen Ballie, PhD Candidate with Chelsea College of Art and Design at the University of the Arts London, in London on August 26th and 27th for a workshop on co-design at V&A. DRESS UP/DOWNload Workshop  Sackler Centre Reception Friday 18.30–19.30 & 20.00–21.30 Saturday 13.00–16.30 DRESS UP/DOWNload is an open source fashion concept, which invites you to be part of the design process: produce a series of prints using simple garments as a canvas. Designed and delivered by textile designer and Ph.D. student Jen Ballie, the co-design workshop allows you to create a design for a garment using collage...

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i-Sustain // The Centre for Sustainable Fashion partners with i-D to transform perceptions of clothing

August 9, 2011
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i-Sustain // The Centre for Sustainable Fashion partners with i-D to transform perceptions of clothing

The Centre for Sustainable Fashion has partnered with i-D to deliver a 12 part series designed to transform the way we buy, wear and consider fashion. In i-Sustain: Issue III—the third instalment— Alex McIntosh investigates marketing, consumption and notions of a collective conscious while featuring designer Ruth Ferguson’s responsible swimwear collection: Olga Olsson “We’re not foolish enough to think that in a few hundred words it’s possible to shed light on the ethical black hole from which the ‘democratically’ priced fashion we crave emerges but one thing is for sure, as long as we keep demanding it faster and...

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Sneaky Business // Oxfam Australia organizes virtual protest to support the rights of footwear workers

August 9, 2011
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Sneaky Business // Oxfam Australia organizes virtual protest to support the rights of footwear workers

Oxfam Australia has launched a new online campaign: Sneaky Business—a virtual march touring protesters across factories in Southeast Asia, China and Central America, all the way to the headquarters of leading shoe manufacturer, Nike. The march is a call for action for workers rights in the global footwear industry. As I write this post, there are 205 virtual protesters marching through Indonesia. “The journey shows that poor working conditions are a global problem. Worker exploitation exists whether in Australia, South East Asia or Central America. However Sneaky Business also demonstrates that there are companies doing the right thing— ensuring...

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From Understanding to Design and Back Again // Denver Cumulus

August 4, 2011
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From Understanding to Design and Back Again // Denver Cumulus

The Cumulus conference will be held in Denver from Sept. 29 – Oct.2, under the theme From Understanding to Design and Back Again. “Designers can no longer be spectators. The boundaries we are used to have disappeared and as human beings we ‘play’ a real role in designing the world around us.” (Cumulus) Cumulus is a global association serving art and design education and research. The Paper Lectures and Discussion Sessions look very interesting. Here are just some that caught my eye: Ethics Matters! Re-Thinking the Moral Discourse in Design: Lorenzo Imbesi, Carleton University Canada Visions of Environmental Art...

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Made-by updates fibre benchmark to reflect current research

August 3, 2011
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Made-by updates fibre benchmark to reflect current research

The Made-by  Environmental Benchmark for Fibres has been updated to reflect new research. The benchmark considers six categories: greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) until spinning, human toxicity, ecological toxicity, energy and water input and land use (Made-by). “In response to feedback we have included new fibres in this updated Benchmark; mechanically and chemically recycled polyesters are now differentiated to represent the different environmental impacts of the recycling technologies used, and recycled wool has been added in Class A. Whilst we are keeping an eye on this area, there have been no new studies made publically available to help us review...

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Bangladeshi garment workers denied rights, War on Want reports

August 3, 2011
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Bangladeshi garment workers denied rights, War on Want reports

War on Want has published a new report outlining current conditions for garment workers in Bangladesh—Stitched Up: Women workers in the Bangladeshi garment sector. Of the many issues addressed in this report, the research outlines the true impact of short lead times, explaining how wages earned can depend on whether or not a worker meets production deadlines. It also showcases certain worker rights that have been denied as a result of an absent rule of law. “The research conducted for this report reveals that women in the garment sector have been systematically denied their rights to maternity leave under...

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