May 31, 2011 by guest
So, the Centre for Sustainable Fashion’s blog theme for this month is ‘In Fashion’. We decided to head out into the streets and see what this means to you, to help us create our guest blog post for them. Asta shot some great looks in East London, and captured some great soundbites too. It was really interesting to hear everyone’s take on the question “What does ‘In Fashion’ means to you?”.
- Steph, Columbia Road “I try to stay quite classic. I mostly stick with black and white. But then again, I’m probably always combining this with bits of color so that it’s not too boring.”
- Emily, Shoreditch High Street “I work in the fashion industry, for Next Model management, and I enjoy the fast nature of fashion. I guess I always try and stick with it, even though its difficult. I enjoy going to London Fashion Week and see how what’s on the catwalks arrives in the high street shops.”
If you’d like to see more of “Blink”s streetstyle coverage, just click here!
May 26, 2011 by caralee
Fashioning the Future Awards 2011
THE STORY SO FAR/
20 days to go until the submission deadline on 15th June 2011.
1300+ individuals registered for the awards to date.
Top 10 regions registered: UK, USA, India, Australia, Singapore, Canada, South America, Spain, Germany and Finland
The 2011 awards are a showcase for exceptional work that celebrates ‘Unique’ ways to create our futures. We invite students and recent graduates to provoke and nurture ‘Unique’ responses to our collective desire for a thriving world in 5 Award Categories. Inspire the industry in a radically new and different direction!
BENEFITS TO WINNERS /
Inspire the industry in a radically new and different direction!
Prizes
£1000 prize for each winner in the 5 categories
Showcase
Showcased at a major London exhibition at Canary Wharf, finalists will have their work captured through film, photography, display and interactive media. The showcase is a platform to the fashion sector of the best emerging talent equipped and prepared to contribute to our collective prosperity. Become part of a community and participate in a dialogue relevant to all young designers in fashion.
SUBMISSIONS/
Step 3 / Submit your work on line
Deadline / 15th June 2011
Submit your work online for your chosen category below.
Use the Fashioning the Future Applicant and Tutor Pack to view the criteria for each award and prepare your entry.
Applicants can submit work for one or more of the award(s) categories.
Submissions can be from individuals, collaborations, group projects and/or organisations.
UNIQUE DESIGN/
Click here to submit your work for the Unique Design Category
Submission Criteria:
Written work: 250 words maximum uploaded as a pdf.
Images: 8 sheets of visuals maximum uploaded as jpeg, tiff or png.
Images should be of a portfolio including materials and processes: flat work and illustrations of a piece or a collection, photographs on models or on a stand: 8 outfits maximum.
UNIQUE ENTERPRISE/
Click here to submit your work for the Unique Enterprise Category
Submission Criteria:
Each entrant must submit a written context behind the idea: maximum 250 words with up to 8 sheets of visuals, as applicable.
Each entrant must also submit a written, visual, audio visual OR technical submission relating to your enterprise initiative for the future fashion industry in one of the following formats:
Written work: 2500 words maximum upload as a pdf
OR
Media: 30 minutes audio visual maximum upload as .mov file 10MB
OR
Images: Digital display of 1 piece of practical work (sample swatches or a finished collection, a maximum of 6 outfits, shoes or accessories) upload as jpeg, tiff, png
UNIQUE COMMUNICATION/
Click here to submit your work for the Unique Communication Category
Submission Criteria:
Each entrant must submit a written press release relating to their work: 250 words maximum upload as a pdf.
Each entrant must also submit a visual of work, this may be either photographic, illustrative, film or animation.
Images OR Media: 8 visuals maximum upload as jpeg, tiff, png or 30 minutes of media maximum 10MB.
UNIQUE BALANCE/
Click here to submit your work for the Unique Balance Category
Submission Criteria:
Each entrant must submit a written and visual concept. Visual concept may be either photographic, illustrative, film or animation.
Written work: 250 words maximum upload as a pdf.
Images OR Media: 8 visuals maximum upload as jpeg or 30 minutes of media maximum 10MB.
UNIQUE MATERIALS AND PROCESSES
Click here to submit your work for the Unique Materials and Processes Category
Submission Criteria:
Each entrant must submit a written and/or visual context behind the choice of materials and / or processes and their role in the complete design, development and existence of a product.
Written work: 100 words maximum upload as a pdf.
OR
Images: 8 visuals maximum upload as jpeg, tiff, png.
Each entrant must also submit a practical, written or technical submission relating to the material/ process.
Written work: 2500 words upload as a pdf.
OR
Images: Digital display of practical work 6 pieces maximum upload as jpeg, tiff, png.
Please feel free to get in touch with us to discuss any questions you still have.www.sustainable-fashion.com / sustainability@fashion.arts.ac.uk /
+44 (0)20 7514 7497
May 25, 2011 by Hatty
Community Repair Exhibition
By Danielle Sponder Testa
This last term at LCF the MA Fashion and the Environment class worked with Otto von Busch on a project called ‘Community Repair: Strategic Social Skill Mobilization for Sustainable Fashion.’ This unique and challenging project was centered around the impact garment repair can have on a community. Each of the 14 students in the class sought out unique participants from our neighborhoods to help us repair a garment that we had worn and loved. Originally scared an unsure of the challenge to meet new people and engage them in an activity they may have never thought to do themselves, we were all surprised by the engaging attitudes of our community members. From lawyers, hat makers, and shoe makers to passengers on a Eurostar train, every participant had their own story and own reason for taking part in this project. In the end we were asked what impact this repair has had on our emotional attachment to the garment, but realized it also had a deep impact on the emotional attachment to our communities and ourselves. Many of us discovered people and places right near our homes that we never would have taken a second look at had this project not challenged us to explore our surroundings.
Personally, I was in awe of the varied outcomes and, along with others in my class, believed this project was worth sharing. Having a relationship with the course and LCF, Jules Hau and Greg Shaw of Foundation Agency generously offered their showroom space to use for an exhibit. We then got to work on organizing a pop-up gallery to further welcome the London community into this project. We worked within our Fashion and the Environment Community to put together advertising, press releases, displays, personal summaries, a video projection, food, drinks and easily accessible excerpts from Otto’s work to come together in a one-of-a-kind exhibition that we shared with the public this past weekend.
On Saturday 14 May we had a Private View for LCF faculty, industry professionals, and of course family and friends. The night was filled with music, drinks, food, and a brief speech from Dilys Williams and Otto von Busch discussing the project, its impact and significance. It was a well received exhibit that we would love to continue sharing. The gallery may not be available any more, but publications still are! Feel free to contact us to receive the magazine that contains personal accounts of the experience from the MA students as well as theory and research by Otto Von Busch. If you made it to the exhibit we hope you enjoyed it!
May 17, 2011 by Hatty
Made in Clerkenwell
Craft Central’s 2 buildings house the ultimate shopping treat, selling exceptional craft/design.
This unique shopping event offers an intriguing ‘behind the scenes’ chance to explore the studios of our community of renowned designers. Pick up distinctive pieces of jewellery, fashion, interior products, ceramics, accessories and traditional crafts, by almost 100 designers at the forefront of their disciplines.
Dates: Special Launch Night on Thurs 19 May, 5-8pm
Late Night Shopping on Fri 20 May, 12noon – 8pm
Avoid the High Street crowds on Sat 21 & Sun 22 May, 12noon – 6pm
Venue: CRAFT CENTRAL HAS TWO GREAT BUILDINGS:
Craft Central, 21 Clerkenwell Green, London EC1R 0DX
AND
33-35 St John’s Square, London EC1M 4DS
Admission: £2.50 per person (under 16’s free) TWO BUILDINGS FOR THE PRICE OF ONE!
At the cutting edge of craft for 30 years, Craft Central (CC) is an oasis in the city – actively promoting, nurturing and strengthening the future of UK craft and design. Designer makers flourish through insightful support, affordable studio spaces, accessible exhibition facilities and valuable opportunities. We understand designer makers, connecting over 500 through our growing dynamic national Network. We build relationships within our creative community and reach out to diverse audiences. CC is a destination for innovative craft and design, showcasing stimulating exhibitions, talks and ‘meet the maker’ experiences.
May 14, 2011 by Cath
We are delighted to announce the launch of a new collaboration between the Centre for Sustainable Fashion and i-D
This is the first in a series of features intended to change the way you think, buy, wear and discuss fashion; a bold statement, in fact bordering on evangelical but we’re starting from a place of ambition, working on the principal that if you really believe something yourself, you’ve got a better chance of winning others over.
i-D has always strived to celebrate individuality and counter-culture, questioning the essence and influence of fashion. The Centre for Sustainable Fashion – our partner in this collaboration – performs a similar function but filtered through a very different lens. Essentially this project will lay out a kind of manifesto; we’ll try not to be too worthy and to be realistic and make sure we always keep the i-D wink in there! There’s twelve months of i-sustain to come, so keep coming back for more! This project is about showing how beautiful clothes can also carry a positive message. Like it or not, what we wear is never just about the function or form of a garment, it’s also a statement of who we are and how we do or don’t fit in. Dress is the most obvious tool we have for self-expression, so what is it we really want to express? The world is changing and uncomfortable or inconvenient as it may be, we need to start doing things differently. Fashion moves so fast that sometimes it’s difficult to stop and take stock; new trend, new face, new shop, new me? No, same me different clothes, but better, more sustainable product.
by Cath
May 10, 2011 by Hatty
Community Repair: Strategic Skill Mobilisation for Sustainable Fashion
Community Repair is an artistic research project initiated by Otto von Busch with support from the Centre for Sustainable Fashion and undertaken by our MA Fashion and the Environment students as part of their Sustainability Solutions Unit.
Throughout the project, students have explored how craft skills among members of their local communities can be mobilised for the repair or adjustment of a garment; and how the compassion for a garment, the crafting of a shared memory and the mending of a social skin can be the needle on which the thread of gifts and exchanges can stitch up a shattered community.
Fashion is a manifestation of the importance of our connections. We use the visual signals of our clothes and style to relate to others and to our evolving world, society and culture.
Strategic Repair explores the idea of reciprocity through the act of making together and connecting within our communities, using an existing starting point of value and developing that value.
Dilys Williams, Director Centre for Sustainable Fashion
Course Director, MA Fashion and the Environment, LCF
The repaired fashion items will feature alongside stunning photographs of the students wearing their garments within their communities in this fantastic exhibition developed and curated by the students.
Fashion is a vehicle of identity in the social play of everyday life. As a commodity the fashion garment and accessory enacts wishes for imitation as well as autonomy and its ephemeral qualities make us continuously re-enact social relations.
As an effort towards sustainability, fashion needs to embrace repair as a designed feature for everyday clothes. If sustainable fashion takes repair seriously, designers might be able to reengage communities in strategic collaborations for repair; using the broken object to mend the social fabric scattered by the status anxiety of fashion.
Otto von Busch
School of Design and Crafts, University of Gothenburg
The work will be showcased:
On: Saturday 14th May – Sunday 15th May 2011
At:
Foundation Showroom
49-59 Old Street
Unit 1
London
EC1V 9DA
