During our trip we also visited the Design Museum which was just fab. We saw the Barbie exhibition (unfortunately the Tim Burton one was sold out, otherwise we would’ve done both!), and their free displays were full of innovative ways people are moving to sustainable fashion making methods. ‘Tomorrow’s wardrobe’ was showing research and innovation that is happening to design a stylish and sustainable future for fashion, including names such as Stella McCartney, Ponda, Phoebe English and Vivobarefoot. On the floor we were welcomed by a large wall of art, titled ‘Fables For Our Time’, Space Popular (Frederick Hellberg and Lara Lesmes) and Shumi Bose, 2024. It was a wall of art made up of emoji’s and fantasy creatures within each wall. Each panel of the wall rotated with the different walls, 3 total, telling a different story, each story presenting different eco systems. I have included photos from this for you to see. The work was very effective as it highlighted the problems within our eco systems that are man made, as well as the wonders of our world. From litter in the sea to fantasy forest creatures surrounded by mushrooms. On this floor I also found a company called FibreShed, they are based in various UK locations, including East Sussex. They are a non-profit organisation where they are developing regional fibre systems that build both ecosystems and community health. It states on their website that the SouthEast Fibreshed was launched in the winter of 2019, so they’re still in their early stages of creating a collaborative network of regenerative fibre farmers alongside London designers to explore possibilities of working with the resources in particular sheep’s wool, hemp and plant dyes. As my project is focused on knitwear and using eco friendly materials, fibreshed would be the perfect source of material, as the farm is local the transport costs would be kept at a minimum and the process in which they make the wool isn’t harming the environment. They have contact information on their page and talk about how they offer workshops, I will be getting in contact with them to enquire about attending a workshop, if available, and to see the farm. I’d love to talk to them about everything they’re working on and the regenerative approach they’re taking in the fashion industry, as well as future plans for the farms.
To further my research this week, I will be looking deeper into Fibreshed and understanding the process they go through on the farms to make the wool. I will also carry out some market research, seeing what knitwear is available in widely available stores such as Zara, Urban Outfitters, as well as looking at Selfridges. A lot of higher priced knitwear can seem high quality, but when looking at the label it’s just the same as that scarf from Zara, it’s important to identify what the clothes were buying are made of because not only does it affect the environment, it can affect our skin due to the quality of the fabric and whether something contains plastics. I managed to find balls of green wool for 50p each in the charity shop, so I will also be experimenting with different stitches and creating different effects with the wool, gaining more of an idea of what I wish to create in the future.
