ZERO-WASTE INSPIRES CREATIVITY

“To eliminate the concept of waste means to design things…from the very beginning on the understanding that waste does not exist.”—William McDonough and Michael Braungart (104)

Millions of textile scraps enter landfills as more and more clothing is produced. 1 Timo Rissanen, a zero-waste pioneer, educator, and designer indicates that despite the fashion industry’s strife for maximum efficiency in material use, only about 80-90% of fabric is used. 2 Rissanen designs and creates garments that utilize 100% of the fabric and generates no fabric waste. Below is a Hoodie pattern Rissanen created and constructed. 

Timo Rissanen, Zero-Waste Hoodie 2009

Inspired by the work of zero-waste pioneer Timo Rissanen, Susan Avila’s Design 170 Experimental Fashion class created zero-waste garments from about 1 yard of digitally printed fabric. Students drew inspiration from photographs taken on the UC Davis campus. Images ranged from redwoods in the Arboretum to abstracted images of the sewing lab floor. The cost of these personalized fabric prints ranged from $40-80, which further encouraged students to use all of their fabric.

Students began by creating three small mock-ups for their wooden mannequins. They experimented with different silhouettes to create shirts, jackets, pants, and dresses. 

Left: Gabriela Mendez, Desiree Cox, David Lee (Front to Back)

Right: Antonia Huang

Helen Trejo

After deciding which silhouette and design would suit the zero-waste project best, students finalized their designs to create full-scale mock-ups. 

Left: Desiree Cox

Right: Nidia Trejo, Kim Ju, Charlotte Pong

Anxious to begin their final garments after the mock-up critique, students printed, steamed, and washed their fabrics. They began to work diligently on their zero-waste projects. 

Left: Nidia Trejo preparing to cut fabric

Right: Heidi Lo draping small embellishments 

Ophelia Song sewing

These are their final garments! 

Kim Ju Jacket; Original Photograph: Sewing lab floor

Charlotte Pong Transformable Dress; Original Photograph: Co-Ho Stained Glass Windows

Haley Gilhooly Shirt; Original Photograph: Redwood Tree in Arboretum

Theron Brown Vest; Original Graphic Design

Courtney Siperstein-Cook Dress; Original Photograph: Heather Flowers

James Choi Shirt; Original Photograph: Windows of UCD Library

Olufunmilayo Alabi Dress; Original Photograph: Ceiling of Mondavi Center

Arleen Fung jacket; Original Photograph: Close up of Walker Hall Window 

Julie Her Shirt; Original Photograph: Crochet Ornaments on a Tree Near Silo

Rebecca Price Shirt/Dress; Original Photograph: Bicycles 

Kathleen Dycaico Jacket; Original Photograph: Redwood Tree

Heidi Lo Jacket; Original Photograph: Wood Chips

David Lee Dress; Original Photograph: Rose

Sandy Hsieh Tote Bag/Skirt; Original Photograph: G-Line Unitrans

Ophelia Song Shirt with Hood; Original Photograph: Leaves

Gabriela Mendez Shirt/Dress; Original Photograph: Ladybugs in Arboretum

Antonia Huang Jacket; Original Photograph: Leaves

Nidia Trejo Dress; Original Photograph: Bicycles

Jennifer Ma Romper; Original Photograph: Rose

Helen Trejo Jacket; Original Photograph: Brick Stairs 

These wonderful projects exemplify creative, sustainable student work that contributes to innovate zero-waste fashion developments.

1. McDonough, W. & Braungart M. (2002). Cradle to Cradle. New York: North Point Press.

2. Hethorn, J., Ulasewicz C., eds. (2008) Sustainable Fashion. Why Now? New York: Fairchild Books, Inc. (186-206)

BRILLIANCE OF BALENCIAGA IN OUR SIGHT

Balenciaga and Spain

De Young Museum

March 26- July 4, 2011

Greeted by a dim room that highlighted mannequins dressed in Spanish treasures designed by Cristobal Balenciaga, I was amazed by the rich Spanish culture that Balenciaga reflected in his fashions.

Balenciaga and Spain Exhibit

Balenciaga’s legacy provokes greater appreciation for Spanish fashion and art. His designs draw inspiration from 17^th century Spanish paintings by Diego Velasquez, 20^th century Cubist paintings by Pablo Picasso, Spanish monarch dress, Spanish bull fights, Flamingo dancers, and the Roman Catholic Church.

Walking past each garment is awe-inspiring because each piece instilled different emotions through their colors, style lines, and silhouettes. Here is a peak at some of his brilliant designs:

Balenciaga gained interest in fashion when he was young as he watched his hard-working mother sew. His first patron was a wealthy family for whom his mother sewed and did laundry for. 1 He opened his first haute couture house in 1918 in San Sebastian, Spain and subsequently opened two more in Madrid and Barcelona. He opened his first haute couture house in Paris in 1937 after seeing several Paris shows and observing French haute couture. 1, 2

In the House of Balenciaga, he participated in each step of the production process to ensure that his design idea was successfully conveyed in the final garment. He took part in pattern drafting, making mock-ups, cutting the fabric, sewing, and fitting the final garment. He began his work early in the day and continued until late at night and only rested on Sundays. He emphasized quality in every aspect of his garments including construction and presentation.

“The dress follows the woman’s body; it’s not the woman that follows the dress” Hubert de Givenchy reminisced, in a 2005 interview, as a key feature of Balenciaga’s clothing. 1

Balenciaga closed his couture house in 1968 when the ready-to-wear industry was gaining momentum.1 After Balenciaga passed away in 1972, his nephews became heads of Balenciaga’s brand followed by Hoechst, Groupe Jacques Bogart, and currently, Nicholas Ghesquire is head and in partnership with Gucci Group.

Currently the House of Balenciaga offers ready-to-wear women and men’s clothing and accessories. 2

Balenciaga and Spain is an excellent opportunity for everyone to appreciate haute couture, learn more about Spain’s culture, and note shifts in fashions by comparing what Balenciaga designed to what we see today.

For more information about the exhibit please visit: http://deyoung.famsf.org/deyoung/exhibitions/balenciaga-and-spain

1. Walker, Myra. (2006). Balenciaga and His Legacy: Haute Couture from the Texas Fashion Collection. New Haven: Yale UP.

2. http://www.balenciaga.com/int/en/Default.aspx?nav=/the-house/about

RECYCLING DAYS: EARTH DAY WEEKEND

Donate your gently used clothing, accessories, and home textiles in a tied trash bag to:

UC Davis’ A Street Intramural Field

Friday April 22- Sunday April 24

9AM-6:30PM

         

        

Recycling Day is being organized by the UC Davis Muslim Student Association.

“MSA thinks it is important to have a Recycling Day on Earth Day weekend because it promotes what Earth Day really represents. It is important to recycle easy things such as shoes, clothes, handbags, etc... We take all these things for granted. Why not have an organization on campus reminding people to give back with things they don't use anymore,” indicates Fatima Salman, Treasurer of MSA.

Recycled materials collected on Recycling Day will be donated to Good Thrift, a small recycling company. Good Thrift will donate items to underdeveloped countries through other vendors.

Please stop by to support this great cause by donating items you no longer use. It can significantly help others in need. 

FASHION STRIVES TO PROVIDE RELIEF IN JAPAN

The alarming 8.9 magnitude earthquake that prompted 30 foot tsunami waves and caused over 50 after shocks had devastating effects on the people of Japan and Japan’s physical structure. 1 In response to this natural disaster, clothing companies big and small are providing financial relief through donations to the Red Cross, Save the Children, and other charitable organizations.

Locally, ADAPT Advancers, an Oakland based clothing company has had great success raising funds through their JP Relief tee project. 100% of t-shirt net sales are donated to the American Red Cross. Remarkably, $30,000 have been raised as of April 1st. 2

Evan Lessler, UCD Design alumni (Visual Communications emphasis), designed the JP Relief tees. The graphic design is the country code of Japan and the universal plus symbol that is representative of aid.

ADAPT Advancers: Japan Relief Tees

“We put out the tee as an immediate response to what we saw, and used the resources that we had available to contribute. There was no roundtable discussion regarding how many to produce, our only foreseeable goal was that we wanted to raise money for Japan, however large or small that contribution would be. The response was WAY above and beyond anything I would have expected from it, and fulfilling the orders has taken much of our free time over these past few weeks,” Lessler said in an e-mail interview. 3

The last JP tees are currently being sold. Lessler explains, “We felt that it had run its course, and that most who have had a desire to contribute in this way have done so already. We may to do something else in regards to this disaster in the future, we haven't really thought that far ahead however.”

JP Relief tees can be found here: http://adaptadvancers.myshopify.com/collections/japan-relief

Regarding fashion supporting philanthropic causes, Lessler states, “I think it's good that labels participate in these sorts of causes because we have a tangible way of giving back that not everybody is fortunate to possess.  Everyone buys clothes, and in our case, t-shirts. It is a relatively easy way to donate without being too much of a hardship on the brand or the customer, it really ends up being a win-win-win situation for all involved. This is our first large scale donation effort, and after seeing the impact that is possible we are definitely looking at other ways to incorporate giving into a regular part of how Adapt operates.”

In contrast to Adapt’s unique t-shirt design aimed to raise funds for Japan, large clothing companies are using different strategies to help provide relief for Japan.

The fast fashion clothing company H&M has closed all of its Tokyo stores and will donate about 100,000 garments to the Japanese Red Cross.4

On March 18, Forever 21 donated 100% of its online sales worldwide, $2,012,112, to the American Red Cross for Japan Relief. 5

Lady Gaga’s celebrity power has also contributed to Japan relief efforts. She raised over $1.5 million funds from sales of her $5 “We Pray for Japan” Bracelets.” The funds have gone to Zynga’s Save the Children Program and the American Red Cross. 6

Bracelets can be found here: http://ladygaga.shop.bravadousa.com/Product.aspx?cp=14781_42444&pc=BGAMLG88

Additionally, pop-up shops are temporarily springing up to raise funds for Japan.

On Saturday and Sunday April 2-3, Nathalie-Roze, a boutique owner, fashion designer, and journalist, hosted Shop for a Cause: A Pop Up Sale for JAPAN/Red Cross in Leslieville Ontario, Canada. Donated women’s clothing and accessories from local designers and shops were sold at discounted prices. 7

These are only a few examples of how the fashion industry is striving to provide relief in Japan. A percentage of designer clothing purchases are also being donated to Japan relief organizations, as well as out of pocket direct funds. Donations and other efforts continue through the Salvation Army, and the Goodwill through donations to the Red Cross and clothing donations. 8,9

1. Alabaster, J., Yamaguchi, M., Hosaka, T., Kageyama, Y. (2011). Japan Earthquake 2011: Magnitude Earthquake Hits, 30-Foot Tsunami Triggered. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/11/japan-earthquake-tsunami_n_834380.html

2. Japan Relief. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.adaptclothing.com/

3. Lessler, Evan. Personal Communication. April 3, 2011.

4. H&M Hennes and Mauritz. (2011). H&M Supports Japan with Garments. Retrieved from  http://www.hm.com/us/corporateresponsibility__responsibility.nhtml

5. Forever21. (2011). 100% Relief. Retrieved from http://www.forever21.com

6. Lady Gaga Raises $1.5 Million for Japan with Bracelet Sales. (2011). Citadel Broadcasting Company. Retrieved from http://wplj.com/Article.asp?id=2147137&spid=36851

7.  CRAFTIVISM: Shop for the Cause-A Pop Up Sale for JAPAN/Red Cross. (2011). Retrieved from http://torontocraftalert.ca/2011/03/24/craftivism-shop-for-the-cause-–-a-pop-up-sale-for-japanred-cross-april-2-3-2011/

8. Salvation Army in Japan Considers Long Term Response to Earthquake (2011). The Salvation Army. Retrieved from http://www.salvationarmy.org/ihq/www_sa.nsf/vwnews/86D9B5A07B8883438025785D0054F44?opendocument

9. Relief Efforts Begin in the Wake of Japan’s Massive Earthquake. (2011). Goodwill International Industries, Inc. Retrieved from http://www.goodwill.org/uncategorized/relief-efforts-begin-in-the-wake-of-japans-massive-earthquake/