Silk textile with gilt thread embroidery, 16th Century. Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, © The New York Times, Dec. 5, 2005.

The Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery at the Smithsonian Museum of Asian Art have created an online exhibit that features highlights from their 2005 exhibit entitled Style and Status: Imperial Costumes from Ottoman Turkey. The online exhibit is beautifully curated with interactive close ups of the costumes that are so detailed you can actually see the fabric grain. What’s so special about the Ottoman Empire? According to the press release in 2005:

“Three weaves were dominant: velvet (kadife), featuring a three-dimensional surface with some areas of pile and some of metal thread; brocade (kemha) and cloths of gold and silver thread (seraser)—the most expensive and luxurious. In the mid-16th century, Ottoman taste increasingly favored large, bold designs, such as medallions, stylized tiger stripes, and a triplespot design known as “çintamani” (literally, “auspicious jewel”). By repeatedly combining the similar motifs in different scales and patterns, the Ottomans were among the first to use recurrent motifs to create a dramatic and distinct visual language—a quintessentially “Ottoman brand”—that became identifiable with the empire’s centralized political strength and growing economic power—its style and status.”

If you are an educator and would like to incorporate this amazing online resource into your lessons, you can get some ideas from the resource for educators with a 4-part classroom activity that accompanies the exhibit.

Now…go explore!

Online exhibit: Style and Status: Imperial Costumes from Ottoman Turkey

Other online exhibits: The Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery at the Smithsonian Museum of Asian Art

Educator’s resource: Asian Art Connections: A Resource for Educators. Style and Status: Imperial Costumes from Ottoman Turkey

On November 10^th, 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 to comment upon the transient and disposable nature of fashion.” (CSF) Click here to view the entire series of performances.

“Lara Torres present’s the recordings/documentation of seven performances in a video screening. These videos are based in the creation of temporary clothes that are produced with the aim of being destroyed. They refer to the los[s] of the object and the documentation of this loss. The action of effacing the clothes leaves a trace (the seams) translating a strong relation with memory and forgetfulness.” (Lara Torres, An impossible wardrobe for the invisible: vimeo)

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ThinkLifecycle, by Alice Payne, is “a widely applicable content management system joining new and existing industry practices in order for companies to evolve towards a sustainable fashion industry.” (CSF)

“The ThinkLifecycle CMS grew from the need for sustainability to be a central concern within the mass market design process, rather than a tacked-on extra. Mass market fashion is affordable, accessible and democratic. However, it is based on a linear model of production where resources are extracted en masse, manufactured into garments and then sold to consumers, who rapidly dispose of them to purchase new product.” (ThinkLifecycle)

 

Congratulations to all the winners, finalists, organizers and participants!

Source: the CSF

Photo Credit: Alex Maguire, via the CSF

“Ethics are on the agenda. Those involved in fashion education need to be teaching the next generation of industry players – fashion students – about the social and environmental impact of the industry so they can find creative and innovative solutions in the fashion industry of the future.” (Fashioning an Ethical Industry)

28th September 2011  – 10.30 – 3.30
Impact Art’s new Eco-chic Shop, 45 High Street, Glasgow

This conference for fashion & textile tutors will feature industry and academic speakers and will provide those involved in fashion education:

• with background information to ethics in the industry
• ideas and resources for integrating ethics into your teaching practice
• opportunities to network and share experience, resources and ideas with other participants

TO BOOK YOUR PLACE, please email: info@fashioninganethicalindustry.org with your full university and contact details.

Source: FEI

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 it.” (Ecosalon)

Click here for the details, and enjoy the festivities!

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 techniques. Leave with a fashion illustration of your very own creation.

Before heading to the workshop, be sure to check out this slideshare by Ballie, presented in June: Co-everything: Defining co-design for fashion and textiles.

Follow Ballie on twitter: @jenballie

Find Ballie through Considerate Clothing, the Textile Futures Research Student Group and of course on www.jenballie.com

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 Education – Environment Means Responsibility and Art Stands for Freedom: Markku Matti Hakuri, Aalto University Finland

• Designers as Agents of Sustainable Change: Siriporn Peters, King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Thailand

• Values Added: The Legacy of Design Responsibility: Patricia Beirne, Parsons The New School for Design United States of America

• Revision the Future of Design: SEED (Social Economic Environmental Design)

Click here to check out the program.

Students—there is a discounted rate for you!

The Research Journal of Textile and Apparel is seeking papers for two Special Issues:

1) Fashion and Textile Strategies for Sustainable Design and Consumption

Submission of original papers: December 2011

Reviewer’s feedback and evaluation: February/March 2012

Notification of acceptance: April 2012

Publication: August 2012

2) The influence of natural colorants in modern textile design and production

Submission of original papers: September 2011

Reviewer’s feedback and evaluation: November/December 2011

Notification of acceptance: January 2012

Publication: March 2012

Submissions for each are encouraged (but not limited to) the following topics:

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1) Fashion and Textile Strategies for Sustainable Design and Consumption:

• New sustainable textile and fashion design strategies combined with new materials or technologies
• Emerging fashion and textile strategies in the context of sustainable design
• Fashion and textile design systems which aim for sustainable consumption
• New eco-materials for textile and fashion manufacturing
• Green economic systems in the field of fashion and textile design
• Product service systems PSS for textiles and clothing
• Sustainable innovations in the field of textiles and fashion
• Consumer perspectives towards sustainable textile and fashion design

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2) The influence of natural colorants in modern textile design and production:

• colorant production, dyes, pigments
• techniques of applications, dyeing and printing techniques
• design for natural dyed and printed textiles
• quality of final textile products
• consumer perspectives towards natural dyed and/or printed textiles
• economical aspects of the usage of natural colorants
• environmental aspects of the usage of natural colorants
• cultural aspects of the usage of natural colorants
• green textiles and natural colorants

Click through for the details, and to meet the editors. Good luck with your research!

Source: Cumulus – International Association of Universities and Colleges of Art Design and Media

The 2011 Ethical Fashion Forum INNOVATION Award winners (UK) and shortlisted candidates (USA) have been announced!

With an expert judging panel, the INNOVATION award inspires and rewards, with winners showcased through widespread press coverage, an opportunity to show at Pure London (August) or Nolcha Fashion Week (September) and a professional photoshoot.

Head on over to EFF site to check out all the details:

EKO – Winner of Pure Award

Chichia for Made by Africa – Winner of Pure Award

Caipora – Winner of Accessories Award

A.L.A.S – Winner of PURE Spirit Award

Genuine Article – Winner of One to Watch Award

ULTRA – Winner of Innovation in Design and Sourcing Award

Shortlisted candidates for the Innovation USA Award have also been announced:

ADO Clothing

AFIA

The Andean Collection

Auralis Inc

AVNI

Carrie Parry

ETHOS

MADIT TUISK

MODAHNIK

SOHAM DAVE

Congratulations to EFF, INNOVATION Award winners and all shortlisted entries!

“The event examines the emergence of the Slow Movement, within a context of design, making and art practice. The two guest speakers will map out the ground that this new creative thinking occupies, both addressing the theory and the practice, as well as the local/global economics and politics that fuel the movement.”

This is a great opportunity to learn more about Slow Fashion!

To know more about Professor Alastair Fuad-Luke check out his website and for more on Professor Helen Carnac check out her blog.

Special thanks to Clara Vuletich from Love & Thrift for letting us know about this event!

You may recall the BBC One documentary “Panorama: Primark – On the Rack” (June 2008) that, allegedly, uncovered Primark subcontractors exploiting children in India for cheap labour.

Well, if you’ve been following the latest in the BBC/Panorama/Primark scandal, you’ve likely heard the news this month that footage from the BBC report is now said to have been fraudulent.

According to the BBC Trust, “Primark complained about the programme to the BBC Executive and then appealed to the Editorial Standards Committee of the BBC Trust (“the Committee”) against the decision of the BBC Executive’s Editorial Complaints Unit (“the ECU”).”

The Committee determined that Dan McDougall’s reporting was, essentially, staged; “the Committee concluded that, on the balance of probabilities, it was more likely than not that the Bangalore footage was not authentic.”

UK Guardian reporter James Robinson writes “[t]he decision by the trust is understood to have infuriated BBC News staff, who privately say that the Primark case has demonstrated that the corporation’s complaints procedure is flawed.”

What did McDougall have to say on the Committee’s findings? McDougall claims to “have rarely seen a finding so unjust in outcome, flawed in process, and deeply damaging to investigative journalism.”

It’s important to remember that the reporting in question was the footage from Bangalore alone, and that there was other footage within the documentary depicting work done by children and homeworkers:

• 23 February – In a refugee camp on the outskirts of Tirupur, the Journalist films two children working on the Complainant’s garments.
• 24 February – In Pollachi, the Journalist finds the Complainant’s sequinned vest tops outsourced to home workers.

(Source: Finding of the Editorial Standards Committee of the BBC Trust:  Pg. 15)

And so, in the end, the BBC says it will apologize to Primark for claiming the company was guilty of using child labour in India….when the company is allegedly guilty of using child labour in India? Right.

Well, at least we know the Indian Government will be happy; a recent post by Clothesource Comments breaks down the true impact a scandal like this has in the Indian context quite poignantly, claiming the incident has crippled the tireless efforts of organizations working to eradicate child labour within the country.

Be sure to keep your eye on this story—only time will tell how it all will play out.