Considerate Clothing

Crowdsourcing Fashion

2011-10-31T02:59:00.000-07:00

I have been following and experimenting with crowdsourcing for a while... The term was coined by Howe in a June 2006 Wired magazine article 'The Rise of Crowdsourcing'. Because technology is becoming more accessible and available it's democratising the opportunity to create.

The concept of crowdsourcing invites participants to submit design concepts which are then voted for via an online community. Many e-business models are ustalising this concept the most recognised and successful within fashion is Threadless, an online platform which crowdsources graphic design concepts for t-shirts.

Over the past couple of years several new start up's have emerged globally. The model works by inviting anyone to submit a design concept to their gallery. Their online community defines the final collection by voting and the top designs are produced and retailed within their online shop.

I wanted to profile two different approaches...

Some Beta Fashion final products

1. Beta Fashion has been running for a while and applying the model to co-create prints for fashion and interiors. They launch open calls for participation by publishing a design brief to set an overall theme and provide an outline. This works exceptionally well with a large volume of submissions and produces great quality concepts. The winner is awarded a fee and their design is produced and retailed.

2. Velvet Brigade has recently been launched in beta and is based in the US. Their approach is similar to Beta Fashion but focuses on garment concepts rather than prints. I love that the edit a video to profile each winner to showcase the inspiration and influence behind the concept... it also promotes the emerging designer and I thought this was a nice connection. The winners are awarded 5% share of the revenue their design produces.

There are lots of components which need to be addressed through this clever concept and I think a lot of time needs to be dedicated to supporting the participants. The above examples demonstrate a different ways to curate crowdsourcing.

I love that these new business models provide a platform for emerging designers to share their work and provide an opportunity space to get a finished product to market. Also it presents a forum for consumers to feedback their issues, needs and desires.

DRESS UP/DOWNload @ DESIGNERS BLOCK

2011-10-09T06:11:00.000-07:00

DRESS UP/DOWNload @ Designers Block

Following on from some pilot sessions at the V&A Museum, I was invited to design and deliver some workshops at DESIGNERS BLOCK, during London Design Festival from the textile collective Puff and Flock.

This afternoon session invited participants to create fashion illustrations using some templates and collage techniques. This way of working has been really fun and interactive and I am going to use the feedback collected to expand on the design tools and techniques. Therefore several workshop packages will be available soon enabling participants to co-create a print design for a dress.

In the meantime, there will be a big finale to the demo workshops and I will post more information soon. If you are interested in participating either online or coming along to future workshops - please get in touch.

DESIGNERS BLOCK: Puff and Flock Workshops

2011-09-21T09:28:00.000-07:00

London-based textile lab Puff & Flock, has concocted a series of exciting workshops for this years London Design Festival. Hold at thefantastic Farmiloe building in Clerkenwel- this years' Designers Block venue- from 22nd to 25th of September, the workshops will be led by cutting-edge designers including the Something Lab or the recent formed Postextiles collective. Discover the whole programme and further details on Puff & Flock's blog.

I am also so excited to be working with this collective to present a short workshop to demo my new project titled: DRESS UP/DOWNload an open source fashion project that encourages and supports co-design. I recently ran this demo during a series of sessions at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. (pics below) Please come along and say hello. Visit the Puff & Flock website for further info/details.

Images courtesy of the V&A (2011) Friday Night Late, August 2011

At this occasion the Puff Up shop, a souvenir shop offering gorgeous good, mostly limited edition, will be back. It will be located in the outside courtyard in the large inflatable cube courtesy of Inflate.

If you have the chance to be in London, I would not miss these exciting events!

V & A Friday Late Summer Camp: DESIGN

2011-08-26T01:11:00.000-07:00

Friday & Saturday 26 & 27 August 2011

This summer, three Friday Lates come together for Summer Camp, a special season of events unpicking the design process. The visitor will be placed at the centre of the design world, playfully examining the shift from the vision of the lone designer to collaborative design practice and personalised production. Join designers to brainstorm ideas, develop projects and create your own designs.

Friday Late Design investigates the collective imagination of visitors, opening up the design practice from a closed off, single vision to group creativity and cooperative working. Create prototypes, engage with the redesign of failed projects, test your ingenuity and make your own music.

If your in london come along to the V&A this evening... there are lots of design activities to engage in! and I will be there introducing a new open source fashion concept titled: DRESS UP/DOWNload and facilitating co-design workshops.

Visit there website for further info and time slots... V & A Friday Late

Continuum: Computational Couture

2011-06-16T05:22:00.000-07:00

Continuum is a user generated fashion collection, which the designer labels "computational couture"
Using an online application you can design your own dress design by drawing directly onto a template. Alongside the drawing a 3-D model emerges showing what your finished dress would look like.

Your dress design can be exported to produce a pattern customised and sized to your own specific measurements. A laser cutter or plotter cuts the pattern out of fabric, which can then to be sewn together to form your dress.

I love the concept! The software is easy to use and I could play around forever doodling new ideas... I like that the illustrations are connected to a real production method which closes the loop and offers a complete product and service design. To find out more watch the video below and visit the Continuum to play with the software. You'll have lots of fun, I promise!

Design Stories: communicating new ideas

2011-06-13T15:11:00.000-07:00

"What is the use of a book, (thought alice) without pictures or conversations?" From Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

When beginning a new project that promotes co-design and collaboration it's difficult to find a starting point. Often new ideas emerge but how do we capture and communicate them? To be a co-design champion, you need to be a good story teller. By this I mean, being able to communicate an idea in an engaging and exciting way.

Christopher Bailey came to visit Chelsea last term and spoke to students participating in a project for Burberry called Inside / Outside. He said something really inspiring...

"Be great designers, with attitude. Good design is expected, but it is how we communicate that design, which is equally, if not more important. There are lots of ideas out there and to make one stand out you need to have a razor sharp vision - what’s your point of view? The way designer’s articulate and communicate their designs is what sets them aside, it’s about finding your voice."

I have recently been allocated some funding for a small project which will focus on telling the story behind a small collection of prototype garments. I will be working closely with an illustrator to co-produce and edit a small annimated film. This project will explore co-design and open design concepts.

This is a new way of working... I am used to documenting my process as I go through film and photography but I haven't sketched out ideas from beginning to end. The first design meeting is planned for next week - I'll upload our beginnings.

Open Design Now: Why design cannot remain exclusive

2011-06-09T07:53:00.000-07:00

Open Design Now

I have just ordered my copy :-) It's packed with example business models, a range of case studies from multiple design disciplines and accessorised with a visual index. Following on from the Openwear conference last week - I am really excited and inspired about the potential new areas of working that are emerging.

How does this fit fashion and textile design? The web2.0 revolution is democratising design through downloads, uploads, platforms to host user generated content and community participation. But to support and enable collaboration there needs to be transparency and a shared outlook - I think open design provides a clear framework for working together. There are so many debates regarding how this can be profitable, well managed and maintained therefore I look forward to insights from design experts who are pioneering this new approach.

Openwear Conference: Refashioning Fashion, new scenarios of clothing

2011-06-06T14:06:00.000-07:00

Openwear is a collaborative clothing project exploring new and alternative models for fashion that promote open design and peer to peer production. Through collective action, shared practice and an online community this new initiative provides a platform for designers to come together.

Last week, I attended a conference hosted by Openwear titled: Refashioning Fashion, new scenarios of clothing. I presented my PhD research and was lucky enough to meet and listen to a series of talks exploring: open source business models, designing participatory interactions, re-thinking craftsmanship through new tools, methods, process and sustainability through social, economic and environmental perspectives.

I will write up some reflections over the next few days... Above is some work produced during five days of intensive workshops used to design their first collective collection and series of look maps to enable and invite anyone to download the "how-to" from their platform in an open source formate.

I found this conference to be both insightful and inspirational. I could relate to their work through my own practice and it was a great opportunity to see the multitude of ways that co-design could be applied to fashion and diffused online. The struggle between traditional models and this new way of working is always contested through economic arguments - how can a professional designer sustain an income and maintain their specialised skills if they are constantly revealing how they make what the produce new work?? This conference covered business and economics from an interdisciplinary team of experts who offered a counter argument.

The conference concluded with the statement "you are what you share" a nice tag line and mini manifesto for collective action. The collective collection is available for download and if your interested in joining the discussion sign up to their online community.

My presentation Co-Everything Part 2 is available for download / to view online.

Co everything part two

View more presentations from considerateclothing

Inspiration Point

2011-06-06T13:16:00.000-07:00

You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.

When I am working on a problem, I never think about beauty, I think only how to solve the problem. But when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong.

R. Buckminster Fuller

Co-Everything Part 2

2011-05-31T14:37:00.000-07:00

Towards the end of my first year working towards my PhD I was set a brief by my supervisors to map the landscape of co-design and position fashion and textiles within this new territory... Now, we know working together is not a new concept within this discipline, in fact sewing circles have brought women together to talk, think and make forever. But what does it actually mean to co-design? It's a collective act of creativity - shared by who? Professional designers, amateurs? Within my research I have been exploring a selection of different groups and identifying ways to bring them together.

This week I will be updating my Co-everything presentation to add my design explorations - I have also been collecting case studies that illustrate new models for fashion and textiles that involve collaboration and participation. The landscape is shifting and new terrains are growing!

I'll be presenting Co-everything Part 2 at the Edufashion Conference: Refashioning Fashion in Slovenia later this week. I'll update the full version to slide share alongside Co-everything Part 1.

I am really looking forward to meeting the other presenters and learning more about their work. I'll keep you posted :-) The full programme is below...

Refashioning Fashion

Some major changes in the social and economic structures of European countries occurred during the last decades. The phenomena related to globalization, sustainability and digital revolution reshaped the goods and symbols of production, introducing new factors and variables especially in the creative sector.

Fashion and its universes became prisms through which many contemporary issues are being refracted. Now there is the need to critically rethink some crucial aspects of its world related to material and immaterial production.

Representing one of the largest industries globally today, fashion displays very clearly how globalized growth works and how the economic systems are far from being balanced.The fashion system as we see it today is the product of a large number of merges and acquisitions up through the 1980’s and 1990’s; now, very few players tend to control very large shares of the global market.

At the same time, labour markets are in a process of constant flexibilisation that leads to a precarisation of life careers. These dynamics are particularly clear in some sectors of material production, while in others, more related to immaterial production, they have been much more hard to identify.

In this context, recent transformations in craft and design (and, more generally, in all the sectors of creative economy) have considerably reshaped the social words of production and their relationship with all the other aspects of social life. Phenomena like the Web 2.0, the long tail effect, peer-production, open-source and crowdsourcing are reshaping the meaning of innovation from social, cultural and economic point of view.

EDUfashion conference will focus on these major themes, exploring the current developments more likely to revolutionize the fashion sector in the near future.

Program:

2nd of June 2011 from 9.30 am

Introduction and Moderation - Oliver Vodeb and Maja Hawlina - Poper

EDUfashion speeches:

- Adam Arvidsson/Nicolai Peitersen - FPS/EE "Open-source brand and ethical economy"

- Oleg Koefoed - Copenhagen Business school - ”Sustainability in fashion – reflections on new challenges and innovations in the fashion industry”

- Bertram Niessen/Zoe Romano - FPS/EE- "Makers&DIY and fashion innovation"

- Almira Sadar, Nataša Peršuh - NTF - " How to cooperate with local producers to achieve a new design"

External invitations speeches:

Massimo Menichinelli -Alvar Aalto University, Helsinki - "On Open Business Models"

Alina Breuil - London College of Fashion - "Interactive design - How to share Clothing"

Franc' Pairon - Institut Français de la Mode, Paris - "Creation between transgression and respect"

Jennifer Ballie - Chelsea College of Art & Design - "Co Everything: Defining Co-Design for Fashion & Textiles"

Considerate Clothing: Updates

2011-05-30T02:06:00.000-07:00

Hello, sorry for the lack of blog posts and updates... I started this blog at the very beginning of my research journey to capture thoughts and reflections of events I was attending, books I was reading and the work that I was designing. It was a great way to record ideas as the evolved and have conversations about them. I have neglected this blog lately... I have been out and about doing presentations, designing and delivering co-design workshops, starting new projects and writing lots and lots too!

I have a huge list of updates to add therefore over the coming week this blog will be revamped and updated ;-)

Future Everything

2011-05-12T08:59:00.000-07:00

Future Everything: Handmade's Digital |DIY | Craft Fair

Come down to Victoria Baths on Saturday 14th May to join crafters, hackers and makers from all over the country, as they showcase their work and ask you to get involved!

Jen Ballie will be presenting the Shared Scarf Project and invite you to participate in an interactive alternative fashion experience by enabling you to rip and mix past and present fashion trends to make them your own.

A collective collection will be co-designed live from london and streamed to the stand... lots of digital tools will be on hand to enable new design concepts. All very interactive and experimental... alternatively please check www.thesharedscarfproject.com and watch the next collection evolve - online contributions welcome.

If your in Manchester please come and say hello!

The Shared Scarf Project @ DESIGNERS|MAKERS

2011-04-27T04:46:00.000-07:00

This Saturday the Shared Scarf Project will be running some DIY fashion workshops in collaboration with DESIGNERS|MAKERS Market Place. This interactive market stall will enable participants to rip and mix past and present fashion trends to make and style their own bespoke scarf.

A selection of vintage scarves and The Shared Scarf Project's first "Collective Collection" will also be on sale within the market stall.

Please come along and say hello. Workshops will be running from 11-5pm

Location:

SPACE

129-131 Mare Street

Hackney

London

E8 3RH

For further info visit www.designersmakers.com

DESIGNERS | MAKERS : Market Every Saturday

2011-04-05T02:53:00.000-07:00

DESIGNERS / MAKERS is a new platform to promote contemporary design and craft in the UK, by creating opportunities for exchange and interaction that benefit a wide constituency of design and craft professionals and strengthen the contribution of design and craft to society.

Their mission is to is to give designers and craft practitioners a space to present their practice. Alongside an online platform they will be hosting a weekly market enabling designers and craft persons to showcase, sell work and interact with the general public.

I will be running some Pop up workshops within the market toward the end of this month. I will upload more info soon. This market space is open to graduate / student applications... For further information visit their website or contact Sophie.

Making is Connecting: the rise of a 'making and doing' culture

2011-04-04T10:34:00.000-07:00

This is my current reading... it arrived on Saturday and have been working my way through it.

Everyone knows that making things, in real life or online, can be a pleasant activity. But David Gauntlett argues that making and sharing is much more than that: it is crucial to individual well-being, and the health of our whole society. Through making things, people engage with the world, and create connections with each other. Both online and offline, we see that people want to make their mark, and to make connections.

Feeling all inspired Bridget Harvey and I have booked into A Good Day for Making workshop run by the school of life.

This workshop explores the rise of a ‘making-and-doing’ culture, where people are rejecting traditional teaching and television, and making their own learning and entertainment instead. The workshop will include a presentation, discussion, and some making and connecting.

I will report back on both my reading thoughts and the workshop soon.

Co-Design Workshop 2/6: Collaborative Consumption

2011-03-18T07:17:00.001-07:00

The Scarf Project: Think | Make | Style | Share

This interactive workshop offers an opportunity to engage in an alternative fashion experience by enabling participants to think and make for themselves. A co-design toolkit will be used to facilitate action and enable the generation of a bespoke printed scarf for each participant. The workshop will end with a style session and photo shoot.

Are you a designer? A fashion / textiles student or graduate? Or are you a consumer / fashion enthusiast? Come along and get involved in a new and exciting fashion experience which will enable you to produce a scarf unique to your own style and personality.

This workshop is free and all materials will be provided. To participate send an email to : textiles2.0@gmail.com

TFRC/VF Competition Launch

2011-03-01T03:58:00.000-08:00

The TFRC/VF Competition launched last Monday - the afternoon session was packed with inspirational speakers who introduced each category of the competition.

Theme 1: Simplicity Regained

Dr Emma Neuberg presented her work around slow textiles and her premise for setting up the Slow Textiles group. She defined the term slow as quality rather than time and explained how she uses textiles as a medium to think and create. There was also a deep connection to wellbeing as Neuberg went on to explain how the makers mindset shifts when engaged and they become more relaxed.

Slow Textiles Workshop on a Barge

Theme 2: Responsible Living

Alexandra Deschamps - Sonsino an interaction designer, she founded TINKER design studio (2007-10) to pursue an interest in the intersection of product design and the Internet and currently runs design swarm. This presentation was packed with some brilliant case studies which represented the theme.

My favourite is below - the Melt Tag. A clothing tag designs for ecological washing and care of the garment.

Melt Tag

Alex has generously uploaded this presentation online - so have a look through.

Theme 3: Networked Lives

Di Mainstone a designer of shape-shifting dresses and clothing which could carry sensors to monitor the wearer's health. Her work has been labeled haute tech operating like a miniature theatre company, her work can be seen at galleries and happenings internationally. Beyond the stage, Di’s sculptural adornments are the stars of short films, which she writes and co-directs. With her unique choreography of fashion, technology and performance Di is drawing clients from the world of art, dance, fashion, film and music.

Skorpions collection

Here is a link to one of Di's Haute Tech Presentations.

Theme 4: Trust Rebalanced

Adam Thorpe is co-director of the Design Against Crime (DAC) research centre and a senior reader at CSM. In his private design practice he co-founded, with Joe Hunter Vexed Generation and Vexed Design (1993 - Present). In the early 90's Vexed pioneered the concepts of 'urban utility' and 'urban mobility' within apparel and accessory design, creating garments and products that communicate concern for society and environment whilst improving an individuals experience of it, often linked to accommodation of multi-modal lifestyles and getting around the city without a car.

Adam used Maslow's 'Heirarchy of Needs' to breakdown the structure of his presentation... lots of design thinking had been applied throughout toward the materials and experimentation of fabrics, fibres and construction, their approach to use and function and end user interaction.

Vexed Parka

Theme 5: Health and Wellness

Suzanne Lee who has recently been appointed as a TED follow introduced the research, development and design explorations behind Bio Couture. This innovative concept uses bacterial cellulose to organically grow fabric - the leather like quality is durable, wearable and can be composted after use.

Bio Couture

All presenters were asked to conclude their presentations with a proposal or over view of what they would do with the £250 prize money - they proposed using the funds to do primary research, or to collaborate with other design disciplines to communicate the concept - for example, produce a short film or storyboard.

The application form is available to download on the TFRC Project blog, where you can also read Becky Earley's (TFRC Acting Director) reflections on the competition launch.

This is a really exciting opportunity, with so many possibilities.

Collaborative Consumption

2011-02-28T09:05:00.000-08:00

Collaborative Consumption

Hello! I apologise for the lack of blog posts... I have so much to write but haven't had time to reflect on the events I have attended or the projects I have participating in. For me this should be a week of reflection - so I hope to update this blog!

I have also been listening to lots of podcasts / audio books while developing the practical side of my research. I have found this to be a really useful way to absorb information... all of the audio has been connected to elements of my research therefore I could make connections to the themes whilst making and thinking about my own work.

My favourite audio book at the moment is: Whats Mine is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption. Clara one of my colleagues at TED recently blogged about Rachel Botsman's talk at the RSA. I've been sharing this audio book around, I think its really exciting and we are definitely on the cusp of some really big changes in society. The book highlights some fantastic examples of how social networks can be used to connect people locally as well as globally. New distribution models are allowing empowered individuals to trade, barter and exchange existing products.

I have just finished a pilot research project exploring new approaches to designing and producing to enable textile design students and graduates to produce a collective collection. This project really got us all thinking about ways to exchange materials, skills and time. Instead of designing products for direct consumption - could we identify ways to encourage sharing and co-ownership? Over the next three months I will be extending my pilot project - working closely with design students, graduates and lay persons to expand upon the notion of collaborative consumption. This can be followed through the project blog: The Textile Sampler.

If you would like to come along to a workshop or have any thoughts on this subject - please share your comment or email - I would love to hear from you.

Call for Partcipation

2011-01-24T08:51:00.000-08:00

*Call for Participation*

AN EXCITING OPPORTUNITY

Calling all current fashion or textile design students/graduates interested in collaboration: you are hereby invited to participate in a practice-led research project exploring co-design.

Design has transitioned from an era of designing ‘for’ people towards the current era of designing ‘with’ people. Brown (2010) predicts that in the future, design will become a social experience and no longer practiced in isolation.

The term Generation Y is used to define a demographic (born between 1977 and 1997) who have grown up surrounded by digital media. Tapscott (2008) argues that this group are a force of social transformation:

- As consumers they want to be prosumers co-innovating products and services

- They use digital media to edit, create and distribute their own content

- They collaborate by constructing their own social networks

- They innovate by becoming active participants within the design process.

Economic changes bound up with globalisation are increasing pressures for people to re-think current models of design and production. The fashion industry is exploring new models to enable Gen Y to participate through exploratory marketing campaigns and streaming fashion week live online. There is huge potential for digital media and design to collaborate to construct new ways of working, but a re-think of the relationship between the designer and the consumer is required: both to consider how new technology can be used to enable the exchange of skills and knowledge, and to bring us into the future with consideration to the users needs and wants.

The selected participants will be invited to a design meeting where the project will be pitched and they will play an active role in defining the overall brief. You will leave with a goodie bag of design tools, tips and tricks to get started on your design research and development.

The following week we will meet again and get to work collectively designing a collection of fashion fabrics and accessories.

This is an exciting opportunity for you to participate in a live research project and play an active role in defining new design approaches, an excellent CV opportunity.

Participant Criteria

- A current fashion or textile design student or graduate

- An Interest and familiarity with digital media tools for example, blogging, twitter, Flickr and Facebook.

- Available for two weeks to participant from Monday 7th - 18th February 2011. There will be x2 real time meetings and the rest will be online.

How to Participate

Send a few short sentences describing YOU as a designer.

Send an email to: textiles2.0@gmail.com

Include: Your name, contact information, University of study, and a blog link if you have one.

Visit - http://thetextilesampler.blogspot.com/ for updates and further information. This is the first in a series of new projects so if your unavailable and would like to be considered for up and coming events just send a quick email.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Fashion Attack

2011-01-22T14:10:00.000-08:00

This short and sweet video is part is an online series by Feed Your Style fashion blog.

Each video edit offers an on trend DIY tutorial... similar to those blue peter or art attacks "here is one I made earlier" lessons.

I like this playful approach to DIY.

The next instalment will be available on Tuesday 25th Jan 2011.

2011 - The Practice Begins

2011-01-07T07:13:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

I apologise for the lack of posts and updates over the last couple of months, 2010 ended on a busy and positive note. This blog has documented my PhD experience from the beginning and I am pleased to now be entering the middle phase of my research 'the practice'.

Over the next several months I will be running a series of practice-led research projects to explore co-design within the field of textiles. These projects will invite students, graduates and the general public to participate. I will document each project as it emerges and evolves. Therefore this blog space will be updated much more frequently and present a series of opportunities to get involved if you have a interest for textile design and want to experiment collaboratively with evolving digital and social media apps.

I just want to thank everyone who has followed, shared and commented on this blog space. Doing a PhD can sometimes be a lonely experience but I have been so lucky so engage in lots of creative conversations will colleagues and peers throughout the process which has been really encouraging.

I look forward to the new year and the creations, conversations and collaborations it might bring.

Ralph Lauren 4D Experience - London

2010-11-15T05:27:00.000-08:00

Sew Lagerfeld

2010-10-26T16:08:00.000-07:00

Make Karl Lagerfeld's Designs via Burdastyle

Karl Lagerfeld has designed a two piece open source pattern collection for online sewing community Burdastyle. These fashion forward patterns are available for download (approx $10 for both) with detailed instructions.

I can't wait to attempt both pieces. Following the feedback from Burda's online community the skirt the is much easier out of the two to produce. There has been a lot of discussion in regards to other star designer's following Lagerfelds offering and lots of speculation, hopes and wishes for a collection of star designers to follow suit!

There has also been some reference to the SHOWstudio Design_DOWNLOAD project which invited participants to access a collection of open source patterns by Alexander McQueen, John Galliano , Maison Martin Margiela and many more. This project invited the participants to reproduce the designs and upload images of their finished work. Entries were judged by a panel of experts and the winners were invited to showcase their garment within the SHOWstudio Fashion Revolution Exhibition (2009) London.

This approach is accessible, affordable and extends high end fashion to a wider audience... With a little 'know-how' and support people can make the garments for themselves. I love this approach but have to admit some of the patterns are very complex therefore support of an experienced dressmaker might be required! However, I find both projects really exciting... Is this a new way of consuming fashion for the future? We will need to wait and see.

Design Council: Design Glossary #1 - 'Co-Design'

2010-10-12T06:56:00.000-07:00

The Design Council are in the process of 'crowdsourcing' a series of design terms to help designers define their value to clients. The first term is: co-design...

The term 'co-design' is frequently used within the field of design but use, application and principles vary depending on context and discipline. Last year I carried out come research into co-design and presented on open lecture to a large group of students, tutors and my PhD supervisors.

Co-Everything: Defining Co-Design within the field of fashion & textiles was a thirty minute presentation followed by a question and answer session. This was a really valuable exercise for me as a designer and researcher... I found that the landscape is huge and the term co-design is associated to multiple modes of design practice. The question and answer session enabled the audience to challenge co-design, contribute their opinions and share their insights with me.

Following on from 'Co-Everything' I designed and facilitated a series of exploratory co-design workshops with textile design students. These workshops are going to be expanded upon over the next twelve months... If you are interested in participating please send me an email.

What is co-design? Instead of a definition I have made a list

Co-design is a method / an act of collective creativity / it bridges the gap between the designer and the user / goes beyond specialist mindsets / welcomes the unexpected / should encourage a playful approach / is a shared experience / ...

To add your definition visit the design council facebook page... I am going to submit something more specific this afternoon.

My Crowdsourcing / voting Experiment: The End

2010-10-12T02:37:00.000-07:00

And so my experiment comes to an end... It has been an intense experience and I have learned lots in the process. I love 'crowdsourcing' as a concept but had no prior experience of participating or contributing within such projects.

I got through the whole experience with very little negative comments and was supported by my friends who supported, voted and encouraged others to vote. The final results have not been tallied officially but I made it into the top 50 out of over 500 entries which is not bad for a first attempt!

My Reflections

1. Establish a network first - it's difficult to establish support and pull in votes from scratch

2. The WOW Factor - don't play it safe, people need to remember your design and talk about it to others

3. Be Strategic - have a game plan, everyone else does

I continue to believe in crowdsourcing as a concept and I do think that it has the potential to produce good design. I previewed all entries and two of the strongest designs (in my opinion) made it into the top five.

However, lots of fantastic entries failed to attract support and should have been rated much higher. A lot of the comments within the community profiled the platform as a popularity contest... and when you begin to pull in votes from family and friends of course it gets personal. Maybe designs should be submitted anonymously?

What I like about the talenthouse.com approach is that after the competition closes you still have all of your supporters backing your profile page. Within a week I have an established profile and have almost 200 supporters, which would have taken me a lot longer to achieve... They are star making and giving everyone an opportunity to compete for their 15 minutes!

I would like to say thank you to everyone who supported me throughout this experiment, especially Green my Style for promoting the call for participation and supporting, and also Social Alterations for backing my entry.

My Crowdsoucing / Crowdvoting Experiment: Stage 2

2010-10-05T09:18:00.000-07:00

So, Day 2 of my little experiment... I have been rallying support from family and friends and gotten up to 176 views and gathered 28 supporters via Facebook.

I am both excited and nervous to see the competition! I have no idea of what the average number of views / supporters should be. I have some positive feedback from friends and friends of friends but it will be great to find out what others beyond my social network think.

If you would like to join me in this experiment click on the support jen button or check in tomorrow for stage 3, when the voting begins.

My Crowdsoucing / Crowdvoting Experiment!

2010-10-04T05:19:00.000-07:00

My Entry 2010

I am participating in a little project inspired and driven by my research project. As well as exploring co-design concepts for fashion and textile design, I am really inspired by social networking and new technology. Therefore I have set myself a 'crowdsourcing / crowdvoting' challenge and would love you to participate!

Crowdsoucing is an act of outsourcing tasks to the crowd through an open call for participation. The designs produced are openly revealed to the pubic who can cast votes and submit comments.

"Talenthouse is a platform providing opportunities to the world’s creative community – a place to participate in unique projects with artists and brands, collaborate, gain recognition and compensation."

I have submitted a fashion design concept for their creative invite to design a stage outfit for Florence from Florence and the Machine.

The Process

Stage 1: Create a design concept and submit

Stage 2: Gather support

Stage 3: Collect votes

Stage 4: Voting closes

Stage 5: the votes are counted

Stage 6: the top ten awarded a runner's up prize

Stage 7: the final five are sent to the artist who chooses the winner!

How it Works: all participants need to gather a bit of a following... they can use twitter, facebook, google news and email to promote their design and invite people to support them within this process. So, I have uploaded my design and am now working on stage two - gathering support!

If you would like to participate and support me carry out this experiment visit my Talenthouse and click the 'support jen' button. Stage three: voting, begins wednesday and all supporters will be invited to vote via email or facebook.

I am going to blog about my progress and the experience itself throughout the duration of the week.

Will it be easy to collect votes or will I fail miserably... how will my design be received... do people love/hate it? It is officially out my control and in your hands...

View my submission and show your support

Creative Review Tweet Up

2010-10-02T02:12:00.001-07:00

I unfortunately could not attend this event - but I love the concept!

Creative Review staged their first ever 'tweetup' event at the Design Museum last week in co-ordination with the London Design Festival. On arrival participants were greeted with a free drink and gifted a moleskin journal and bag of lego...

They were asked to bring a piece of work with them which was used to produce an impromptu exhibition within the gallery. Activity tables were set up and participants were asked to draw onto an endless roll of paper inspired by a frequently updated brief... that's where the twitter component come in!

Tweets were streamed live and projected onto a screen within the venue... this allow outside participants to contribute and follow the event in real time.

The participants also got to work using their free bag of LEGO and you can see the concentration within the room as lots of participants got to work to produce a new invention.

I love this concept. As designer's begin to use twitter and other social networking / digital applications it presents us with new platforms to be innovative, collaborative and challenge traditional models of working together.

This does not need to be a group event, I think the individual designer can use twitter to work with a larger audience and the work of Textile Designer / Illustrator Johanna Basford is the best example which comes to mind. I have embedded a video below!

Fringe Cover from Johanna Basford on Vimeo.

Co-Design Workshops @ the Eco Factory

2010-09-27T11:53:00.000-07:00

Today I facilitated some co-design workshops @ the Eco Factory, Oxo Gallery, London.

I demonstrated some fabric necklaces which I designed using recycled leather scraps... Using some basic running stitch sewing methods participants engaged in a workshop for 30mins to an hour and left with a finished necklace or cuff bracelet.

This short workshop worked well as it allowed amateur to professional designers to adapt the design to their skill set. Some participants followed the set instructions whilst others became a little more adventurous and re-worked the pattern to their preference.

I am going to expand on this collection of accessories over the next few weeks and produce a series of DIY kits and instructions which will be tested through some more workshops.

I really enjoyed working with the participants and spending a day sewing by the river chatting to people who came to visit the exhibition.

Textile Environment Design: D-Day

2010-09-23T04:21:00.000-07:00

Old T-Shirt Before

Old T-Shirt After

Textiles Environment Design (TED) is a Research Group based at Chelsea College of Art & Design. I am a PhD student there and was lucky enough to participate within one of their workshops last Friday.

The Workshop titled 'D-Day' defined durability day and was inspired by the recent Martin Margiela exhibition hosted at Sommerset House, London.

Using a variety of different print techniques a collection of old garments were transformed. I really enjoyed this workshop experience and was amazed at how quickly old garments could be transformed into something new and desirable.

I transformed an old t-shirt that I no longer wore due to damage and stains (images above). You can see some of the other work produced on the TED and Make it Digital.

The full report and next event will be documented on the TED blog.

100 DAYS OF ACTIVE RESISTANCE

2010-09-08T10:55:00.001-07:00

'The principal idea of Active Resistance is that you get out of life what you put in and that real experience of the world involves thinking' - Vivienne Westwood.

100 days of positive thought, active change, speaking up and being heard. Vivienne Westwood Anglomania and Lee Jeans encourage communication and individuality through an online installation sharing interpretations of Vivienne Westwood's Active Resistance.

'It is not enough to follow world politics, see films and read the prize-winning best seller. This is superficial, you need to go deep in order to understand who you are, what the world is and how things could be better. This involves culture which can only be acquired by self-education: human beings should mirror the world.'

Every day for one hundred days one image representing your ideas of Active Resistance in the world, will be selected from your submissions and shared online. At the close of 100 days, the 100 chosen images will become a part of an itinerant exhibition dedicated to the project. So stand up and speak out! Take a photo, write a slogan, create an image or an artwork and show us your active resistance!

The installation will commence on September 28th 2010, with the 100 Days coming to a close on January 5th 2011. For more information on Active Resistance please visit www.activeresistance.co.uk

Old is the New Black!

2010-07-15T10:48:00.000-07:00

Paint it Black - Old Garment Being Transformed

Finished Garments Drying Off

Following a conversations this afternoon with my friend Otto we decided to take action! We acquired some garments from the nearest Salvation Army Store and then hit the Print room at Chelsea. Tomorrow we will finish our garments and photograph our final looks.

This collaboration will continue through a shared space and some extended workshops.

I have really enjoyed this hands on and immediate way to approach a project. We have come up with a new idea, tested it and launched our project in just a few hours. I'll update our progress as it continues.

Digital Craft

2010-07-14T06:47:00.000-07:00

Here are some pic's from Textile Designer Clara Vuletich's current work... She undertook a recent residency at Chelsea under the AA2A programme.

This work explores the concept's of Digital Craft and Slow Design.

"Clara Vuletich is a printed textile designer and a researcher in sustainable textile design exploring ideas of material reuse, digital craft techniques and Slow design. For this project, Vuletich is further investigating her interest in combining traditional textile printing techniques such as screen and block printing with digital print technology and the possibilities of digitally printing onto recycled textiles. Using a collection of personal and valued textile fragments for design inspiration, and the title 'Fragments', the artist will explore the ‘emotional durability’ of textiles and pattern."

All Images sourced from www.loveandthrift.com

Clara has documented her journey from start to finish on her Love & Thrift Blog. This beautiful collection of fabrics will be on show at Camberwell College until the 23rd July 2010.

Counter Point: Playing Devil’s Advocate With Sustainable Design

2010-07-13T07:14:00.000-07:00

Counter Point: Playing Devil's Advocate with Sustainable Design

The WHY: Counter Point: Playing Devil’s Advocate With Sustainable Design...

The WHAT: A Camberwell, Chelsea, Wimbledon (CCW) AGENDAS Event

The WHEN: Friday 16th July 2010, 2 – 4pm

The WHERE: Lecture Theatre, Chelsea College of Art and Design, Atterbury Street, Millbank, London SW1P 4JU (http://www.chelsea.arts.ac.uk/location.htm)

Four speakers will take up a position pro the motion and anti the motion for 5 minutes respectively, to make their case...

1. Clare Brass
2. Dr. Otto von Busch
3. Kieren Jones
4. Sandy MacLennan

Image: www.selfpassage.org von Busch (2008)

If you would like to join in the debate, please turn up on the day. This event is free, and you do not need to RSVP or reserve a space. See you there!

Visit the TED blog for more info or follow TED_Chelsea tweets direct from the event

The Slow Textiles Group: Master Class in Slow Fashion

2010-07-09T13:59:00.000-07:00

Master Class in Slow Fashion (June, 2010)

The Slow Textiles Group is founded and facilitated by Dr Emma Neuberg. Over the last 12 months I have attended several workshops the most recent being 'A Master Class in Slow Fashion'.

This workshop was facilitated by Slow Textiles member Frances Cowper who generously shared her fashion experience by constructing an illustrated handbook of her methods to enable participants to 'unlock the shape and form of an existing garment without damaging or unpicking the original'.

Frances brought along a collection of garments and we all began the workshop by trying on an Alaïa Jacket which really came alive when modelled on the body. This introduced us to function and form before the methods were introduced...

I brought along an original 1960's dress which my Aunt originally wore and then passed on to me... I adore this dress for lots of different reasons. Mainly because it reminds me of my Aunt but also because the style and shape fits and suits me well. I have worn this dress lots because it can be styled up or dressed down, allowing my to wear it in lots of different ways.

Using the methods shared by Frances I have begun my journey towards reproducing this favourite garment! I am determined to finish this project over the summer and it really has made my think about my wardrobe in new ways.

I have enjoyed each of the slow textile workshops which I attended so much as they have allowed me to learn new sewing techniques, different Patchwork methods and how to recreate my favourite garment. But these workshops go beyond learning and sharing new skills. The Slow Textiles Group is a community which allows like minded people to come together to learn, make and engage in dialogue around 'slow textiles' within a nurtured and supported environment.

There are a series of workshops for the coming year listed on the blog and a new series will be run in collaboration with the V&A Sep-Oct 2010.

I will be working on my dress over the next few week and record my process as I go...Wish me luck!

PROTOtype: 10-11 June 2010 Handmade Nation

2010-06-21T10:04:00.000-07:00

Last week I attended the PROTOtype conference in Dundee and found it so inspiring!

This symposium was packed with a programme of great speakers, screenings and exhibits of work.

On the 9th before the symposium itself, I went to the screening of Handmade Nation a documentary by Faythe Levine

I read the the book last year and had been looking for an opportunity to preview the documentary. The documentary was packed with different elements of making bringing together a collection of makers who applied different methods, skills and processes. Each maker had their own specific purpose and process which they demonstrated through a collection of different products.

The documentary covered a range of issues concerning the craft world... this huge boom in DIY has popularised the concept and would this indie culture become comercialized or stay true to it's original ethos?

The Q & A session was great - I thought she projected an honest and reflective perspective of her experience in capturing these crafty conversations and collaborations.

Some of the questions...

Who was her favourite crafter showcased through the documentary?

Where would craft be without the internet, how has it been impacted by blogger culture?

If she was to do it again what would she change and why?

What was her plans for the future?

There were lots more questions... You can find more out about the project by visiting the handmade nation blog. Or buy the book here and DVD here

I will report on this event in more detail, followed by the Designing a Better World symposium which I attended in Newcastle on route back to London.

Sorry for the lack of blog posts... this PhD experience has become action packed! I am working on a new digital space, blog address and lots of workshops... More details will follow really soon!

Fashion Co-Design Workshop

2010-05-17T12:35:00.000-07:00

Last Friday I designed and facilitated a workshop at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, at The University of Dundee.

The workshop was designed around an interchangeable dress and invited participants to submit designs. The changeable element was built in to explore multifunctional clothing as a method to challenge direct consumption by exploring alternative fashion interactions.

As a group we discussed ways to make clothing changeable but accessible. To customise fashion sewing skills and know how is required and this costs more money, takes time and requires effort therefore how can a fashion consumer get a quick fix in a do-able format?

To communicate the concepts the participants designed and produced a 'zine' to accessories their dress.

Each team presented their dress and zine. All integrated social and digital media into their concepts to create networks. These networks would support service design models, send members tokens for downloads, offer upgrade and repair. The networks would be designed to also conversations around the dress designs and showcase ways to assemble and style new looks.

The students were brilliant and offered some great designs and suggestions.

The final designs will be produced and new concepts will be added through future workshops. This will be showcased through a new blog and digital space.

Details to follow soon!

Living and Giving

2010-05-16T13:06:00.000-07:00

Living and Giving with Mary Portas and Save the Children...

After a POP UP in the village, Westfield Shopping Centre Mary Portas as gone one step further, with a permanent shops in Westnourne Grove, London. Opening 22nd May 2010

For further information, contribute or volunteer vist the Save the Children Website

Frock Me! Vintage Fashion Fair

2010-05-11T03:49:00.000-07:00

Call for Participation - University of Dundee

2010-05-05T07:19:00.000-07:00

Hacking Couture

2010-04-30T06:27:00.001-07:00

Hacking Couture: Armani from robert moon on Vimeo.

Giana Gonzales was invited to Italy to present Hacking Couture, an exploration that merges interactivity and fashion by applying the concept of open source to the process currently executed to forecast fashion. The design elements or DNA of an established brand, like Armani, are revealed to be part of a system that invites participation. Preconceived understandings of “open” modes of participation are broken down to reveal unforeseen limitations, and with them, new possibilities.

LIVESTREAM | Fashion Pioneers with Jefferson Hack at 7pm London time today

2010-04-29T10:43:00.000-07:00

Business of Fashion Imran Amed joins Jefferson Hack streamed live at 7pm

Tickets sold out instantly! But you can participate in the discussion via twitter!

Fashion 2.0 Luxury Labs Generation Next Forum

2010-04-29T08:59:00.000-07:00

L2 Generation Next Forum: May 14, 2010 from L2 Think Tank on Vimeo.

Craft Rally Part 1: London

2010-04-14T03:28:00.000-07:00

Craft Rally was funded by the crafts council an event "designed by makers, for makers, with makers."

The event poised some questions for exploration:

What are we?

Where are we going from here?

How has the meaning of craft changed and developed through time?

How can our current landscape off new and exciting ways of thinking and making today?

I attended part 1 of the event which was hosted at Chelsea College of Art and Design, London. The event opened with some provocations: actors delivering provocative speeches around the crafts, it's meaning and the future positioning of craft. This was followed by a panel discussion before a Q&A session. These craft conversations covered many issues and current debates around teaching and learning, the role of technology, the meaning of the word craft, current markets and future markets... How the crafts be sustained in the current economy?

I found these provocations really made me think about my positioning as a designer and PhD student. I began my journey specialising in Woven Textile design, a skill which taught me lots about precision, mindfulness and patience! The results were slow but I valued the end outcome so much more and really connected with each piece of cloth I designed and produced. I don't currently weave within my practice or research at the moment but I really value my weave learning experience as it provided me with a foundation for learning and appreciating craftsmanship.

In the afternoon I attended x2 workshops: The first Cupboard Confidential facilitated by Rebecca Earley and the second titled Cloth non-confidential facilitated by textile collective Bricolage. I really enjoyed engaging in both workshops and was on hand to capture some pictures for the TED team.

Cupboard Confidential asked praticipants to bring along an object which the cherished and another which they did not. Some of these images were hung up and showcased in the parade ground. People were positioned at tables and invited to sketch their objects and stories onto table cloths. The table cloth became a platform for sharing their objects story through pictures and conversations. The image above shows one participant showcasing her grandmothers robe, it is lined in bright orange silk and she wears it inside out.

The Bricolage collective were on hand all day inviting participants to stitch onto a table cloth. Throughout the day participants sat down and left their mark through appliqued shapes and a range of embroidery stitches.

Burda Style - Alabama Studio Style Inspiration Challenge "And the winner's are..."

2010-03-10T06:06:00.000-08:00

Found via BurdaStyle

Slow Textiles - Pop up Patchwork

2010-03-09T05:42:00.000-08:00

Patchwork Quilting Pop-Up Workshop

I have just reserved a place for Dr Emma Neuberg's Pop-up workshop. Designed and hosted in celebration of the V&A exhibition Quilts: 1700 - 2010, which opens the following week.

"The Slow Textiles Group is a non profit organisation invites you to engage with materials, expand your creativity, explore hybrid techniques, trust your needs, develop your practice, tell evocative, lasting stories, reflect back and forward, make mistakes, learn, commit to yourself, exhibit collectively and generate cultural capital -this is you time!"

This will be the fourth workshop I have attended and I am really looking forward to exploring patch work to upcycle garments. I will report back from the day.

Fashioning an Ethical Industry Annual Conference 2010 - "Fast Forward" Part 2

2010-03-09T05:25:00.000-08:00

Fashioning an Ethical Industry Conference continued...

I booked into workshop 3. New Approaches In Education and Industry
Chaired by Maggie Burns (Industry consultant) and two presentations by Dr. Mathilda Tham and Nadira Lamrad.

Dr. Mathilda Tham presented the Lucky People Forecast Approach: How can education support engagement with systemic sustainable fashion futures? This presentation introduced the notion that designers are 'lucky people' in touch and well connected.

Fashion has become unsustainable...H&M handled 500 million products within the year (2005) they have declined to release an updated figure but this illustrates how fast fashion has become.

The concept of 'meta-design' was used to workshop inter-disciplinary practice, inviting multiple stakeholders (designers, journalists and consumers...) to participate. To set the scene and provide an 'uncontaminated' work space the workshop outputs were projected 20 years into the future.

Mathilda talked about joined up thinking, connecting the dots (small clusters of activity) within design and beyond, with a focus on Meta-Design. The aim of the workshops were to spread information and agency through diversity, co-creation, evolution and emergence to offer a holistic sustainable model of working.

She talked of one participant (a fashion student) who when introduced to the unsustainable factors of fashion design, stood up and stated "I don't want to be a designer anymore..." after the workshop she claimed "well, I do. But, I want to be that kind of designer..."

I could relate well to this statement, when I began my Mdes studies I was so confused about what kind of designer I wanted to be and what kind of designer I could be. I was so concerned with the environmental impacts which are triggered by 'design', that I became really confused. I didn't just want to contribute more 'stuff' but opting into a considerate way of thinking, working and making required new methods, tools and processes. My Mdes course prepared me for the process and throughout my PhD I am constantly working towards identifying the most appropriate way of working.

I like the idea of an 'uncontaminated workspace' to discover new actions and reflections. Read this paper Metadesign tools: Designing the seeds for shared processes of change

Nadira Lamrad presented CSR Trends in China's Apparel Supply Chain and presented a new framework for strategic CSR investment. She asked the group to check their garments labels and put up their hand if any read "made in china". Almost everyone's hand shot up!

This presentation explored brands and factories working together, independent organisations, mediating systems and social accountability. An elected human resource committee could by placed within the working environment to improve working conditions. This is similar to (PAR) Participatory Action Research which was introduced in Scandinavia work environments in the 1960's. The PAR movement allowed factory workers to design and audit the tools, practices and processes placed within their own working environment. Could a similar movement be re-adopted?

The afternoon hosted a series of Pecha Kucha sessions: which explored ideas for the future. This series of short and sweet presentations were really inspiring. Lots of students submitted their dissertations to Fashioning an Ethical Industry review panel, for selection. These visual presentations explored audit fraud in China, Changing buying practices, educating for socially responsible design and creating supply chain communities.

Fashioning an Ethical Industry Annual Conference 2010 - "Fast Forward"

2010-03-04T04:29:00.000-08:00

I attended the annual Fashioning an Ethical Industry Conference on Tuesday 2nd March.

"Fashion both reflects and influences social change. In a time when we are increasingly concerned with the impact of the fashion industry on people and the planet students need to be equipped with the tools to design the way we make and consume fashion differently. Fashioning an Ethical Industry is part of a growing global movement within fashion education that is addressing ethical issues to bring about this change."
Fashioning an Ethical Industry (2010)

Upon arrival I registered my attendance and was directed to a small numbered table where other delegates were waiting. After introducing ourselves we were asked to engage in a 10 min exercise... We had to work in a team of seven to produce as many t-shirts as possible from a pile of paper (following 7-step instructions) we all had a part to play in the production process. As the final whistle blew - our team managed to cut out 24 t-shirts but the winning team proceeded to 37! This small task can't begin to express the severity of the working conditions and pressurised situations that garment workers face daily... but I think it was a fantastic opener to a series of discussions about this topic.

The first speaker of the day - Dr Otto von Busch discussed the rituals of fashion and how clothing has many different "means of expression", emotional investments and practiced rituals. An introduction into hacker culture with the motto 'if you cant open it, you don't own it" explored different modes of breaking in/ plugging into the fashion system at large to inspire or initiate alternative scenes of engaged practice.

For example, a fashion workshop co-ordintated through the theme of the game- chess. All garments were marked with a grid that represented co-ordinates. The participants used bandage clips to position themselves to new locations and the application twitter was used to update new assemblies - for example C9 to B6. The look would then change A2 to D1... and so forth. Otto illustrated new ways of engaging with fashion that empowers people and orchestrated a set of new scenes and practices that could be positioned within the current system. This was a inspiring first talk and a great opener to the day.

All images sourced via self_passage.org

Dr Kate Fletcher followed with an introduction to her project titled "Local Wisdom" which was showcased within the gallery space at the Rich Mix venue. The project captures stories and narrative through peoples tales of use. This small scale, human centered project networks local people to come together to share their fashion stories. Kate claimed that by meeting people on the ground level is do-able, this small scale interaction projected a speculative vision of the future.

Some of the stories were presented - the person introduced by their first name and their garment. Their fashion stories conveyed shared use (through co-ownership), re-designing clothing to extend it's use, unwashed garments...

I think it is the personable level that really reaches people, by being introduced to a garment and seeing it through the owners eye's I looked at the clothing differently. I think it becomes more than a garment as I then began to connect to the story and to person and didn't see a person presenting a garment but a garment representing a person. (if that makes sense)

A series of 3 workshops followed these sessions and I booked into Workshop 3. I will follow this post with a summary of this and the pecha kucha session.

LCF- Finding our Fashion Footing

2010-03-04T03:32:00.001-08:00

London College of Fashion are organising a conference in collaboration with the Centre for Fashion Studies at Stockhol University.

A showcase of fashion themed PhD practice and research will be presented and problematised to position within the future fashion landscape.

I have RSVP'd and really look forward to meeting the other students and engaging in such discussion. I will follow this post with a write up of the event.

Places are limited so if your interested in attending this event: contact Rachel research@fashion.arts.ac.uk to reserve a place.

Fashion Comes to Life

2010-02-23T04:26:00.000-08:00

Fashion Label Cassette Playa launched a t-short collection with a difference designed by Carri Munden in collaboration with the Digital Fashion Studio at London College of Fashion . The T-shirts have a small symbol similar to a barcode integrated into the graphic print.

Munden stated that “Cassette Playa is all about mixing reality and fantasy.” When viewed through a webcam or mobile phone they come to life through Augmented Reality - AR. This technology allows video, text and graphics to become animated to change shape and form.

Digital media is playing a significant role within London Fashion Week. The majority of fashion shows have been streamed live on via the internet with twitter integrated into their web platform. This supports a fashion dialogue and opens the arena up - to everyone!

Burberry have build a Marquee in the parade ground here at Chelsea and their catwalk collection will hit the runway in 3D! Want a front row seat? Visit London Fashion Week at 16.00 (3D glasses not provided)

Fashion 2.0 | Suzy Menkes on the Growing Influence of Fashion Blogs

2010-02-23T03:35:00.001-08:00

On Fashionblogs from Mary Scherpe on Vimeo.

Fashion Re-formation

2010-01-21T08:31:00.000-08:00

At Florence’s Pitti fashion exhibition: Gentucca Bini presented a collection on site reworking high fashion pieces with a group of skilled tailors on site. The designer based the collection on the historical, social and economic issues we are addressing. Inspired by the make do and mend manifesto of reviving existing garments through fine tailoring.

This collection invited participants to contribute cherished and designer garments, which were reformed with a subtle twist or radically reconstructed according to the customers preference.

"In this way a garment from the past is customized, re-designed and re-branded and old pieces that may be particularly dear to her customers for their history or the memories they bestowed upon them become fashionable again." Dazed Digital

A team haute couture outfitted helpers were on hand to offer assistance, updating Comme des Garcons , Balenciaga to Dolce and Gabbana and Henrik Vibskov .

Bricolage: a series of textile workshops

2010-01-15T08:49:00.000-08:00

London based textile collective 'Bricolage' have been occupying a shop space within Brixton Market since December. To celebrate and bid farewell to their POP Up Shop, they will be hosting a series of textile workshops.

The Bricolage collective brings together a group of textile designers who met whilst studying together at Chelsea College of Art & Design. As well as their 'POP up' vacancy, they recently exhibited at TENT London and will also be featured in an article reviewing 'POP up shop' spaces in The TIMES this Saturday.

To book a place email info@bricolageproject.com / and double click on the press release for full information

DIY Couture

2010-01-12T06:47:00.000-08:00

DIY Couture is a london based label with a difference. Instead of purchasing the finished garment you buy into a tool kit or series of toolkits to "do it yourself".

The web platform launched in Dec 2009 and a series of booklets are available to purchase via their online shop.

"Inspired by the thousands of invisible pairs of hands around the globe that make the clothes we buy, DIYcouture hopes to inspire people to turn off their screens and get up to their elbows in the 3-dimensional world of creation. It supports the slow revolution. Helping people to produce garments that are precious, rather than disposable, this is the antithesis of fast-fashion." DIY Couture

Fast Fashion & Co-Design: Working Together

2009-12-07T04:26:00.000-08:00

I designed and facilitated a workshop last Friday for MA Textile students at Chelsea College of Art & Design. The workshop was part of a piece I am working on for TED'S Ever & Again publication on upcycling textiles. It is an outcome of an AHRC funded research project directed by Rebecca Earley .

The workshop was titled Fast Fashion & Co-Design: working together

I used co-design to "orchestrate creative conversations" a term coined by Leadbeater (2009) to inspire collaborative concepts. We borrowed IDEO 's 3 core concept of design thinking to structure the workshop... It was divided into 3 sections... empathy, prototyping and storytelling.

I really enjoyed working with the students to explore these concepts and they presented some really interesting ideas and exciting solutions.

Project Remake

2009-12-02T04:50:00.000-08:00

The F Factory - LIMITED EDITION experiences

2009-11-30T06:46:00.000-08:00

Fendi will be playing quite a role in the event this year, introducing the F Factory, a limited-edition retail project in the Miami Design District's Moore Building (home to Zaha Hadid's "Elastica" permanent exhibition), starting November 30 2009 and running until Christmas.

The shop will feature the brand's most coveted bags, complete with Fendi's Roman craftsmen on-site to personalize each one. But in true Basel form, art and culture will infuse the retail. Graffiti artist Andre is creating three needlepoint panels live in three 60-minute "performances" in the space, which will then be stitched into a unique Fendi bag.

You can buy your own Fendi Baguette Needlepoint Stitch Kit, designed by Silvia Venturini Fendi for $995!
Other collaborations include Moritz Waldemeyer's collaboration with Fendi to create six custom-made Gibson guitars with Silvia Venturini Fendi, which will project lights on the walls when played by American band OK Go.

The Limited Edition Experiences program in the Miami Design District. Launched by Dacra, a real estate company that owns 80% of the 18-block area that constitutes the Miami Design District, Miami's Limited Edition Experiences program brings together designers like Cynthia Rowley,Duncan Quinn, Christopher Ross, Maison Martin Margiela, and Marni, all of whom engage consumers with a series of initiatives ranging from pop-up stores to limited-edition wares, in-store events, documentary screenings, and more.

Luxury fashion engaging in experiential goods and services... could this be the new Eco Luxury market of the future? I can't wait to see how these pop up projects proceed!

For more info visit website

Make Do & Mend

2009-11-30T04:34:00.001-08:00

Rags to Riches to Rags

2009-11-27T06:39:00.000-08:00

Marc Levin’s HBO documentary Schmatta: Rags to Riches to Rags was backed by, supporters of NYC’s shrinking Garment District who gathered for a Save the Garment Center rally. There was a sizable turnout for the event at the corner of 39th Street and Seventh Avenue, which was organized by a mix of city officials and led by designers Nanette Lepore and Yeohlee Teng . The crowd spanned the entire northeast side of the block reaching to 40th Street. “The Garment Center is the lifeblood of New York City…and we need to preserve it,” said Lepore, standing on a small stage, to the assembled fashion students, designers, and Garment District workers. “The city has already lost enough of what keeps us unique,” she added.

Designer and CFDA president Diane von Furstenberg turned up to lend her considerable support, as did Michael Kors, Victoria Bartlett, Maria Cornejo, Rag & Bone’s Marcus Wainwright and Chris Benz. “I produce my entire collection here,” said Benz. “For a young designer, the quantities for production lots overseas are enormous. They ask for 1,000 pieces at a time.” Erin Fetherston, who was part of the cause but was out of town filming a broadcast for her line with QVC, had similar thoughts. “The Garment District is so important to New York and New York fashion,” said Fetherston, before the rally. “Big American brands and young designers alike all have access to the same great resources for making clothing.” Or as one of the posters cheekily but effectively summarized, “It’s Sew N.Y.”

—Bee-Shyuan Chang via Style.com

Documentary Preview

Re-Conceptualizing Fashion Shows 2

2009-11-26T04:00:00.000-08:00

Gareth Pugh Spring/ Summer 2010

A fashion film produced in collaboration with Ruth Hogben. It was a prequel of his Paris runway show which took inspiration from the four elements, earth, wind, fire and water.

Is this format a new way to present such conceptual creations? The collection really lends itself to this format... it sets the atmosphere and the aesthetic is celebrated through the moving image. Real time fashion shows present a certain ambience but can digital media enhance the conceptualization and perfomability of a collection?

I think it's an interesting add-on and can't wait to see other designers adopting such a process.

Cherish Your Wardrobe - Event Report

2009-11-24T03:41:00.000-08:00

"Image source my fast fashion diet article"

I attended the 'Cherish your Wardrobe' event at Central Saint Martins yesterday, an event hosting a range of speakers who tackle sustainability from different angles.

Designers from Gieves and Hawkes, From S omewhere, Pachacuti and TRAID presented their work and design journey. Their 'sustainable stories' connected them and really animated the cause. It was inspiring that every designer began with a limitation and designed this into their process and practice.

If innovation can be inspired from limitation: how can we push the boundaries and challenge the fashion industry? Over consumption is a huge problem and how do we make sense of an industry that has somehow lost control?

The designers urged the audience and consumers to emotionally engage with their clothing, to invest in fashion that will be cherished and loved. Quality was also an important issue, for clothing to be durable and with stand the test of time it needs to be well crafted and really beautiful. But are we as consumers willing to pay more?

Over consumption was addressed and TRAID stated that the average fashion consumer buys 35 garments per year. But if we explore fast fashion culture that teenagers are buying into, the number of annual garments consumed is significantly more. They asked the audience to think about how much they consume per year... how much do you consume?

So where do the answers lie?

The Q & A session was really animated and the audience challenged sustainable fashion from their perspective.

How do you convince consumers to buy into ethical fashion if it costs more?
How do we influence the fashion industry at mass?
Are trends important? Should we be buying into trend-less fashion?
Is fast fashion necessarily a bad thing? It's democratic and allows everyone to participate...
Do the answers lie in current sustainable business models... can we explore, reflect and expand upon?

One audience member flagged up that she loves how everyone can express themselves through fast fashion... She felt that DIY fashion puts pressure on woman to return to the sewing machine and the whole stitch and bitch concept is possibly a step backwards?

There was also a lot of discussion about the onus being put onto the consumer... the speakers responded that is because the power of the purse has a significant impact! Do retailers supply to meet demand? The urge for Government support for local production was also stressed as an important issue... new legislation and initiatives are required to urge designers, suppliers and businesses to work towards sustainable standards.

I think consideration needs to be applied to all viewpoints... its a complicated area and there is no complete solution or answer which will resolve everything. But lots of work has already been done and this can be expanded upon...

The stereo-type of sustainable fashion is changing, new materials and process are delivering a better aesthetic and this could enable us to work towards challenging preconceptions.

Re-conceptualizing Fashion Shows?

2009-11-23T14:41:00.000-08:00

"A perfect storm of fashion, art, technology and sound captured by dancing robotic cameras who fed the whole thing live to the Internet...."

Alexander McQueen: Spring 2010 RTW

Tobi 1-to-1 shopping

2009-11-23T07:25:00.000-08:00

Fashioning the future: Augmented reality allows trying on of outfits

San Francisco – Online retailer Tobi.com has launched a virtual fitting room that can be accessed from the home. Customers can try items on through innovative use of a webcam and motion sensors are used to rate styles with the wave of a hand. They can also post pictures immediately to Facebook in order to see what friends think.

Cherish Your Wardrobe

2009-11-23T07:24:00.001-08:00

Connecting luxury and quality to sustainability in fashion

Chaired by Caryn Franklin
Speakers:
Frederik Williems, Head Designer Gieves and Hawkes
Orsola de Castro, From Somewhere
Carry Somers, Pachacuti
Lyla Patel, Traid

5pm, 23 November 2009

The Innovation Centre
Central Saint Martins
Southampton Row
London WC1B 4AP

Love Fashion, Hate Sweatshops

2009-11-20T03:36:00.000-08:00

Campaign Information

"We love fashion. But the clothes we buy in the UK come at a terrible cost. Millions of workers around the world suffer poverty wages and exploitation, producing cheap fashion for our shops. This can’t go on. We demand a fashion industry that respects workers’ rights. Our government must act now to protect the people who make our clothes.

War on Want is leading the biggest ever call for the government to regulate companies and put an end to the exploitation of overseas workers. We are asking people to add their faces, names and voices to our campaign against sweatshops. Our aim is to have 50,000 people join our call for immediate government action. It’s an ambitious goal, but together we can bring an end to sweatshops.

War on Want’s research on the sweatshop conditions facing the workers who make our clothes has made front page news and attracted attention nationwide. Yet in spite of widespread awareness of the issue, it is not always clear what practical steps members of the UK public can take to end sweatshop labour abroad. Asking companies to regulate themselves hasn’t worked. Boycotts have only led to further job losses."

War on Want 2009

Access their website to read full reports and information on how to support this campaign.

Fashion Victims

Fashion Victims 2

Let's Clean up Fashion 2009

Full Press Release

Global Sourcing Marketplace: Making Producing Sustainable Fashion Collections Easy

2009-11-20T03:25:00.001-08:00

THE ANNUAL INDUSTRY MARKETPLACE FOR SUPPLIERS OF SUSTAINABLE FABRICS, COMPONENTS AND MANUFACTURERS TO THE FASHION INDUSTRY

20th-21st NOVEMBER, CHELSEA COLLEGE, LONDON

As a culmination of 2009’s Spotlight on Sourcing event series, the Ethical Fashion Forum (EFF) will be holding a two-day Ethical Sourcing Marketplace in London. The marketplace will bring together representatives of brands and retailers with manufacturers, suppliers and cooperatives working to high ethical standards.

At the event you can:

Meet a range of suppliers, see and feel products and discuss your needs face to face
Gain access to detailed information on exhibitors through the Supplier Directory -quickly identify exhibitors compatible with your work
Attend the series of short seminars during both days, introducing new products and exemplary supply systems
Access one to one advice from leading ethical fashion support organisations and initiatives
Network with other visitors and learn from others experience, share ideas and make key contacts
Tickets are available on site and student discount is available for £10 access saturday 21st between 1030 - 1300 ... bring your student ID with you.

visitor information

The North Circular "Fashion Flock"

2009-11-16T08:10:00.000-08:00

The North Circular is a knitting company who's products are supported by supermodels and knitted by grannies. All of their products are produced using rescued Wensleydale wool which is dyed and spun locally (within 120 miles of North Circular route of Yorkshire).

A brand to emerge from an idea shared between friends (Katherine and Lilly) has sustainability as it's core. The knitwear is handmade by skilled artisans (a team of highly skilled grannies), the materials are sourced from local sheep rescued from slaughter, the locality of their production process is kinder to the environment and the products are beautifully made to last...

5% of every sale and all of Lily Cole's profits are forwarded to the Ethical Justice Foundation.

Visit their website for further information...

Co Everything: Defining Co-Design for Fashion & Textiles

2009-11-11T08:20:00.001-08:00

I have uploaded a snippet from my presentation last Friday... Thank you so much to everyone who came along. It was a valuable exercise and I feel it really pushed me forward.

Thank you for the questions and feedback... it gave me lots to think about and was a great opportunity to see my research from the viewpoint of others. I have lots to consider and look forward to developing the workshops and moving forward.

I will doing a series of presentations as the research develops... I will post updates and also advertise the workshops as they come into practice.

View more documents from considerateclothing.

Co-Everything: Defining Co-design for Fashion and Textiles’

2009-10-30T16:13:00.000-07:00

Friday 6^th November ‘09

3.30pm – 5pm

Lecture Theatre, Chelsea Millbank

TFRG / PhD Student Jen Ballie presents:‘Co-Everything: Defining Co-design for Fashion and Textiles’

Co-design is an all-encompassing term to describe participatory action, but how does it fit fashion? This presentation will explore a series of co-design terms and define them within a fashion context, to offer a series of solutions for designers for discussion with the audience.

If you are a undergraduate/ postgraduate student from the University of the Arts, London and have an interest in this area please come along or contact me or more info.

Mortiz Waldemeyer

2009-10-26T13:48:00.000-07:00

I have been meaning to do a blog entry about Mortiz Waldemeyer's work for some time. I first heard him present his work during a keynote at the ISEA09 event in Belfast this summer... I was lucky enough to hear him present again at Central Saint Martins a few weeks ago, which was even more engaging and inspiring!

Mortiz trained as an engineer at Kings College in London and began his journey working for Philips at their Innovation Lab...

He is the technical "know how" behind many high end fashion and interior collaborative projects that can truly be defined as "cutting edge". The projects were introduced with an explanation of the original concept, the methods of production and a concluded with reflection of how the end outcome performed and was received. I thought this was a really inspiring and insightful way to present such unique creations.

For example an interactive LED chandelier embellished with swarovski crystals, designed to display text messages.

High end fashion collaborations working with the likes of Hussein Chalayan (pictured above) to produce the 20 years of fashion collection and a following project invited him to make a video dress) concept reality...

A project with Zaha Hadid (pictured above) to design LED technology into Zaha's futuristic kitchen interiors.

He has received commissions from the music industry to integrate laser technology into clothing for Mika's music video and was recently invited to design a laser jacket for Bono's stage performance.

A lot of his project's have been heavily financed and supported by the likes of swarovski without which it would have been impossible to produce as the level of manpower, technical skill and material cost exceeds traditional production processes above and beyond!

The projects were introduced with an explanation of the original concept, the methods of production and a concluded with reflection of how the end outcome performed and was received. I thought this was a really inspiring and insightful way to present such unique creations.

I was blown away by the level of skill, technical ability, methodical thinking and innovation invested in each of these projects... He uses LED technology is alternative ways and really pushes the boundaries to help others realise a concept and make it a reality.

For further explorations check out his blog or follow his tweets.

SHOWstudio Taking Time at Libertys

2009-10-21T03:57:00.000-07:00

SHOWstudio have collaborated with Liberty to capture fashion street style via a store window, live thread and you the public.

This project is part of the SHOWstudio Fashion Revolution Exhibition. The photographs will be uploaded to the SHOWstudio website and catalogued for your viewing pleasure. Fashion designer Gareth Pugh will judge the overall winning street fashion look representational of " a unique sense of personal style". The chosen winner will be awarded £500 of Liberty vouchers.

To participate get yourself down to the Carnaby Street windows of Liberty. The SHOWstudio Fashion Revolution exhibition is showing at Somerset House until 20Th Dec 2009.

Build Your Own Dress

2009-10-18T08:35:00.000-07:00

Both Images sources via Studio 28 Couture Website

Studio 28 Couture offers a bespoke dress service allowing customers to co-create their own clothing via a "build your own application".

This easy to use application allows the user to select dress shape, fit and apply colour or pattern via swatches provided, the fabric swatches change seasonally. The options presented provide lots of variations regardless of opting for either cotton or jersey fabrics.

Their service is marketed to provide affordable clothing that is unique and invites the consumer to participate in the design process. All dresses are made by hand in NYC and take approx 3 weeks to arrive.

I think it would be interesting if there were more fashion experiences presented this way. Studio 28 Couture are offering a similar solution to style|shake another bespoke dress creator website which I blogged about a while back...

A Style|Shake Creation

Style|Shake are evolving rapidly and have integrated a wedding service into their service! They offer affordable personalised fashion and their dresses retail between £35-65.

I have uploaded a youtube video of the Style|Shake process:

Both are a fantastic add on to traditional online shopping and a great way to personalise your wardrobe or even create that dress you have wanted for a long time but haven't been able to find or don't feel confident or skilled enough to produce independently.

But, how could these services be expanded upon to allow consumers to participate further in the design process? Can such services support upskilling or integrate upcycling into their business models?

I think it's fantastic that both solutions are affordable and easy to use and cant wait to see how they evolve.

The Ethical Fashion Show Paris & FEI Workshop

2009-10-13T06:50:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago I visited the annual Ethical Fashion Show, an event hosted in the heart of Paris at the Tapis Rouge (one of Paris' oldest department stores). Whilst there I attended a workshop facilitated by Fashioning an Ethical Industry.

The workshop invited a series of speakers to explore ethics within fashion, the presentations alternated between French and English (headsets were given out to tune into translations). The workshop was action packed and covered a range of topics for example:

Social responsibility - highlighting the role of the consumer and what alternatives are available. How do we engage with industry to promote ethical production strategies?

Student awareness - what is the role of Universities and students?

The workshop was designed to promote ethical literacy and practice and the audience was comprised of students, tutors, designers and industry. The speakers introduced a variety of past and present projects tailored to address these issues.

The Univeristy of Delamore ran a practical workshop connecting their students directly to industry. Their objective was to demonstrate considerations for the design and development of "sustainable garments". The students were divided into groups focusing on different areas such as social, use and concept. The students were linked directly to IPC, a Factory School in Honduras and worked collaboratively to deliver end outputs which was a series of garments. Visit their blog for further information. Ethicalfashionproject.wordpress.com

I liked that their project was a tangible example of design interventions that were both functional and deliverable... there was also end outputs so the theories were met with practice.

IFM in Paris were also working directly with industry through a global collaboration project linking Paris, FIT New York and China. This live one year project allowed the students to meet at each location once and work to experience every aspect of the supply chain. This offers the students a real time perspective through a hands on learning strategy. It looked like this really informed their decision making process and promoted a sustainable actions.

Fashioning an Ethical Industry delivered an inspirational presentation with an introduction to what they do and their resources . Visit FEI website to access these resources there is an educational handbook available and lots of papers and pod casts available to download.

They advised delegates to engage with others via social networks this can help build a dialogue around "sustainable fashion" but also link up institutions, students, designers and industry. I think identifying opportunities to connect and promote global conversations which can lead to exciting collaborations through thinking and practice.

The Ethical Fashion show itself was a fantastic showcase of ethical fashion that was both functional and desirable. The designers were on hand to introduce the thinking behind their collections, explain the production process and answer any questions.

Hacking Design: Folly theft or a new democratic dawn?

2009-10-06T03:52:00.000-07:00

The RSA will be hosting an event exploring the notion of "design-hacking" a term used to offer alternatives to traditional design, production and partcipation. This event will be chaired by Scott Burnham (author of the RSA Design & Society pamphlet on design-hacking) and invites Dr Otto von Busch "haute-couture heretic and DIY- demangogue".

Dr Otto Von Busch recently completed a PhD which combined a series of projects and experiments to explore fashion activism. His approach invites participants to actively engage in the fashion system and he has created a digital platform called >self_passage< which offers open source projects and proposed solutions. This is an excellent resource for designers practitioners, researchers and fashion DIY enthusiast's.

Event Description
As brave designers embrace this new frontier spirit. Design jam sessions of professional and amateur in cities and festivals all over the developed world unlock a creative energy that has, in fact, been ever-present in favelas and rural villages where necessity has always been the mother of invention.

Is design-hacking merely another post-modern phase in the history of design, or does it reveal a civic ingenuity and resourcefulness that a century and a half of industrially-fed consumerism has masked?

I have just booked tickets and really look forward to attending this event. I will update a new posting to summarise the proceedings.

Book Tickets or Further Information

The EVER Manifesto & Cittadellarte Fashion: Bio Ethical Sustainable Trend

2009-09-28T08:01:00.000-07:00

During Milan Fashion Week at the Cittadellarte Fashion: Bio Ethical Sustainable Trend event Princess Charlotte Casiraghi, daughter of Prince Caroline of Monaco, introduced the Ever Manifesto. A new publication she is producing which aims to explore sustainability through fashion, art, education, politics and ecology.

Ms Casiraghi describes the publication as a "communications think tank" inviting designers, artists and experts to come together to focus on the idea of sustainability and how they can combine skills to transform society. The publication will be distributed free at Corso Como, Milan Fashion week and will then available from Colette in Paris.

The Cittadellarte Fashion Even t invited eleven designers (selected by Italian Vogue) to explore ecological materials and processes within their work. The designers included Marco de Vincenzo, Silvio Betterelli, and Marta Forghieri, all from Italy; Osman Yousefzada and Mark Fast, Britain; Siri Johansen, Norway; Mary Katrantzou, Greece; José M. Nunes da Silva Giralt, Spain, Matthew Ames, United States; and Sandra Backlund, Sweden.

Event organiser Mr Pistoletto, 76 said he organised the event because he felt fashion needed an Eco boost as it was under explored within the Milan fashion industry. He claimed it was about "unifying aesthetics with ethics..."

I think the relationship between the ethics and aesthetics is an interesting and valid point, for sustainable fashion to be truly desirable and demanded for by consumers it needs to be really beautiful and functional as well as ecological. There has been huge developments of late and as more designers explore ecological materials and processes it pushes the boundaries creating new and exciting outputs for the fashion industry.

The Cittadellarte Fashion: Bio Ethical Sustainable Trend will be showcased in Milan from 23 September 2009- Feb 2010.

Sandra Backlund - Slow Stitches and Time

2009-09-21T05:23:00.000-07:00

I have been observing and admiring the work of fashion knitwear designer Sandra Backlund for some time and I think its a good representation of what it means to combine the words 'slow' and 'fashion' together in the same sentence. I have been thinking a lot lately about about the word 'slow' and its relationship to fashion.

Sandra Backlund studied at Beckmans College of Design, Stockholm and she formed her own label in 2004 immediately after graduating.

Her knits are all produced by hand and she constructs the sculptural forms as she works, allowing herself the freedom to improvise as and when she likes. She begins her process with the same patterns blocks and then builds upon this structure to create new 3-Dimensional forms.

Each piece takes hours upon hours of hand knitting skills, she is said to spend up to 20 hours per day locked away in her studio knitting and produces two amazing ten piece collections per year! Her work is constantly changing, shifting and re-forming and I am truly inspired that each piece is crafted by hand.

She stated in an interview with BLEND that she was taught to knit as a child by her grandmother and often gets her mother to help out when pressed towards deadlines. I love the idea of skills being handed down between generations and re-interpreted.

Backlund says "my work is very personal to me... I am fascinated by all the ways you can highlight, distort and transform the natural silhouette of the body with clothes and accessories... The handicraft process and the handmade feeling is also significant. I do experiment a lot with different materials and techniques... but its through my heavy wool collage knitting that I have found the ultimate way to express myself. "

The time, precision and quality invested in each piece can make it very difficult to categories her collections - are they truly fashion wearables or art forms? And how do you market or put a price tag on such a high level of innovation and craftsmanship?

She could be labeled as a knitting visionary as she pushes the boundaries between traditional hand craft by creating fashion forward garments that are truly iconic and cutting edge. When asked to explain her thought process she explains there is no formula to it... she just experiments through the stitches. Once the panels are formed she pins and constructs them in front of a mirror to shape and form.

It's an interesting discussions as sometimes designers find it difficult to explain their method behind the process, it is an intrinsic part of the design process that is unexplainable and can not be taught. I think investing lots of time and energy allows us to perfect and reflect a technique but I think there is also a little magic behind the new thoughts or concepts that emerge.

I love Sandra's work. I have linked to her website to view the 2009 collections. If only we could all use hand knitting in such an inspiring way we would have the answers to slow fashion at our fingertips!

Fashioning an Ethical Industry Annual Conference 2010- Fast Forward

2009-09-18T07:50:00.000-07:00

Call for Academic/Research Papers and Student Projects

Fashioning an Ethical Industry International Conference: Fast Forward
Supported by the Northumbria University School of Design
2nd and 3rd March 2010
London

Fashion both reflects and influences social change. In a time when we are increasingly concerned with the impact of the industry on people and the planet, students need to be equipped with the tools to design the way we make and consume fashion differently. Fashioning an Ethical Industry (an EU funded project taking place in the UK, Netherlands, Austria and Poland) is part of a growing global movement within fashion education that is addressing how the business of fashion impacts on garment workers. This two day international conference will build upon the success of previous national events and the publication of the Sustainable Fashion: A Handbook for Educators. It will bring together educators, industry experts, academics and selected students to explore how fashion can be taught to inspire responsibility for the rights of the workers making our clothes.

Alongside their set programme of speakers with expertise in the industry, they will provide the opportunity for the presentation of academic research papers and for students to present their project or dissertation work at the conference. Each paper will be presented in a 30 minute session. Double sessions of one hour are available. All of the papers and projects will be presented in a workshop setting and the presenter should allow time for participants to comment and contribute to the session.

Academic/Research Papers:
Papers are welcomed that address the following or related themes:
Social responsibility in the garment industry (with an emphasis on garment workers’ rights)
Teaching ethics within fashion education
Approaches to education for sustainable development relevant to fashion education
Student Presentations:
Students are invited to apply for the opportunity to showcase their project, design or dissertation work which addresses social responsibility in the garment industry. If you are a tutor please encourage your students to make a submission.

Procedure:
Academics and students interested in participating in this event should submit an abstract by 30th October 2009 of 500‐700 words to liz@fashioninganethicalindustry.org.

Abstracts will be peer-reviewed by a committee chaired by Doug Miller Inditex/ITGLWF Professor in Ethical Fashion at University of Northumbria. Final papers should be 5-6000 words long. The papers will be published online on the Fashioning an Ethical Industry website under a creative commons license and may be published more formally.

Important Dates:
Abstract submission deadline: 30th October 2009
Feedback on submissions: 29th November 2009
Final paper/project submission deadline: 30th January 2010
Final Conference: 2nd/3rd March 2010

For more information visit their website.

Service Design Conference 2009 - Beyond Basics

2009-09-18T07:48:00.000-07:00

The Service Design Conference will take place on 26th - 27th Octiber 2008 in Madeira, Portugal. The Conference will host a series of talks around service design innovations and is entitled "Beyond Basics"

Speakers include: Lavrans Lovile and Ben Reason (live|work), Mark Jones (IDEO), Shelleu Evenson (Microsoft) Lucy Kimbell (Saïd Business School, University of Oxford), Andreas Sommerwerk and Julia Leihener (Creation Center, Deutsche Telekom AG) and many more inspiration speakers Im sorry I haven't posted the list but visit the website for full speaker information and bio's.

The full agenda can be viewed here.

2012 Imperative Teach-In

2009-09-18T07:07:00.000-07:00

The Victoria and Albert Musuem will host the 2012 IMPERATIVE TEACH-IN on the 12th October followed by participating institutions on the 13th October.

This event will broadcast live online and speakers include Andrew Simms of the New Economics Foundation, John Thackara of the Doors of Perception, Richard Hawkins and Christian Hunt from the PIRC, Ben Gill from BioRegional, designers Jonathan Crinion (Crinion Associates) and Stephanie Hankey (Tactical Technology Collective).

he 2012 Imperative aims to embed ecological and sustainability literacy in design education by 2012. There is a social network to support new connections and conversations.

Visit their website for further information on booking tickets or where to watch the broadcast live.

Junky Styling "Wardrobe Surgery"

2009-09-06T09:14:00.000-07:00

Junky Styling "Wardrobe Surgery" by Kerry Seager and Annika Sanders is available to purchase via their website.

Junky Styling are a fashion brand who upcycle clothing to create new wearables and they offer a wardrobe surgery consultancy service that allows consumers to update their wardrobe using existing garments.

Working with used and already constructed clothing can be restricting but they have engineered this element into their design aesthetic and the overall look of the transformed garment is both stylish and wearable.

A must have book for any fashion DIY enthusiast or any fashion consumer. Wouldn't a few tips and tricks to update our wardrobe be valuable?

Fashion's Night Out - A Global Celebration of Fashion

2009-09-06T08:26:00.000-07:00

Fashion's Night Out is an initiative to celebrate fashion and style globally. This extravaganza will commence on the 10th September 2009, hosting a series of personal appearances, makeovers and workshops.

The joy of fashion can become lost in translation in this current climate with growing concerns about both the environment and economy. It's good to be conscious and aware but I think celebrating fashion on a global scale can allow new dialogue, transitions and experiences to emerge.

This global event has been orchestrated to promote shopping through fashion celebration and in reality the environmental and economic impacts of shopping is significant. The fashion industry employees approximately a 1/6th of the worlds population! Therefore the rate at which we produce, consume and dispose impacts each stage of the fashion life cycle differently.

I think more mindful consumption is key and events like this would be an excellent platform to nurture and support such mindfulness. Can these events be tailored to support consumers by offering style advice or wardrobe surgery through workshops to support the repair and transformation of existing clothing?

UK Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman said. "We're delighted to be in a position at Vogue to undertake this enterprise and to bring retailers and shoppers together in central London for this unprecedented feel-good occasion.

"In these difficult economic times, we want to reward the spirit of enterprise and imagination that the fashion industry encapsulates," she adds.

Can this enterprise and imagination be utilised to upskill consumers and upcycle clothing?

I'm really sad I can't attend the NYC event which hosts a workshop facilitated by Alabama Chanin @ Barneys, New York City. I find the notion of sewing and making within one big fashion party really inspiring.

ISEA 09

2009-08-24T05:54:00.000-07:00

I am off to Belfast, Ireland this week to the International Symposium of Electronic Art 09 where I will be presenting my first academic paper!

The ISEA is a non profit organisation promoting interdisciplinary action through academic discourse and promoting a dialogue through the disciplines of art, design, science and emerging technologies.

I will be presenting in the third Interactive Textiles category which explores collaboration, cross-disciplinarity and consumption. My paper reviews participatory design methods for fashion support by digital media and sustainability will be a central theme throughout my presentation.

I'm really excited to be attending this event as they have some really amazing key note speakers lined up. Clive van Heerden , the Senior Director of Design-Led Innovation at Philips and responsible for leading the Philips Design Probes program will be presenting on Wednesday and Thursday will host Moritz Waldemeyer, the engineer behind Hussein Chalayan's futuristic fashion creations.

The are a series of Fashion and Textiles sessions exploring time and form, materiality and wearability and lastly, adoption and collaboration, cross disciplinarity and consumption.

And that's just a summary of the Textile categories, there are many more presentations and workshops within other disciplines. I cant wait to experience this action packed week!

Running parallel to this digital exploration I am going to try out another digital experience - twitter! I will try my hand at some micro blogging photos and comments live from ISEA09 for the duration of the week... Bye, bye and tweet to you later!

Fashioning Now

2009-08-19T02:51:00.000-07:00

Fashioning Now, changing the way we make and use clothes is an exhibition and symposium at University of Technology, Sydney 28 July - 28 August 2009.

The exhibit features innovative research projects from Australian and International practitioners including three members of staff and research from LCF Prof Helen Storey MBE, Dr Kate Fletcher and Jennifer Shellard.

Fashioning Now addresses all stages of the clothing lifecycle exploring the production and use of garments and addressing how and why they become discarded. The work has been submitted in an array of different mediums from garments,textile objects, time based art, photography and fashion illustration. The designers have used upcycling techniques, zero waste production, slow fashion, bespoke services, traditional craft and many more methods to present a series of sustainable solutions and poise scenarios for further research and development.

Visit the Fashioning Now website which hosts information about the event, the exhibitors and their work. Case studies are available to download and the website will be updated regularly making is a valuable resource for those with in an interest in sustainable fashion and textiles.