This week I have started to refine my research into what is relevant to my concept and plans for the future. Carrying out a case study on the company Fibershed has given me a full understanding on what it is they do and why. In my research I found that they offer a visionary approach to transforming the textile industry by prioritising ecological health, community development, and transparency. While their scalability and costs remain a challenge, the success of localised Fibershed networks highlights the potential for similar initiatives worldwide. Which is what I hope to become a part of with my own project. I have also looked into soft fascination and how different activities can affect how much room we have left for imagination, I found this topic to be extremely interesting, soft fascination activities include things such as going for a walk and various daily activity, these things take a little amount of attention, leaving space in your brain to think outside the box. Whereas hard fascination objects include things like watching TV and scrolling social media, things that require a large attention, leaving little room for imagination. Attention fatigue is when the brains attention mechanisms are used too much, causing you to feel a temporary mental fatigue. To help your brain focus on a task it uses these mechanisms to remove distractions. From this you would see how your brain would lack these attention mechanisms if you are more likely to watch more TV than go out for a walk, you’re engaging with hard fascination objects, thus giving you a lower attention span. Whereas if you were to spend more of your time outdoors and engaging with soft fascination objects, giving you a higher attention span, engaging in soft fascination objects doesn’t require much focus which leaves more space for thought. I decided to look deeper into this topic because of how it relates to my project. My goal is to create something that inspires imagination and creation, leaving behind the hard fascination objects and getting out into the soft. By sharing what I envision for the future of fashion, I believe it can inspire others, helping spread regenerative farming to your wardrobes. I think, especially now, that we use the media and televesion as an escape from the world that’s going on around us. Disconnecting us from nature and the planet we live on. With fast paced clothing production and trends within micro trends, it’s easy to forget how it all affects our planet, quite significantly. I think part of the problem is the media, giving you the feeling that you always need something new. I want to use the media as a tool to build awareness of sustainable wool, and educate people on the things you should be buying and why.
Alongside developing my research, I have been in the process of making a scarf, and I have crocheted a Lily. I have documented the process I went through of making the flower, and will show here the final result. It was quite an easy method, I made it from the knowledge I already had on stitches and shaping, once I had made all the petals I tied them altogether using green yarn, also adding a small leaf. I looped the base of the pollen through the center of the flower giving the same 3D effect they do on real lillies. I added finishing touches of ribbon and tied off the base of the flower with the green yarn to cover all the loose ends. This is my first attempt at making a flower so I think I have been successful, later on into my final project I will refine my skills, identifying the mistakes I make and learning from them. My next steps will be finishing my scarf and making a rose, as over the Christmas break I plan on making a rose scarf that I have roughly designed.
Expanding from what I have learnt and made, I have decided to create my own online brand, this will be a space where I am selling the crochet accessories I hand make using 100% sustainable wool. I will have my core collection, consisting of hair pieces, keyrings and scarves (I may add to this later), but will also be offering two drops per season that will include garments such as cardigans, jumpers and bags. The brands focus will be on limiting the amount of clothing made to move away from consumption, whilst encouraging consumers to buy well made and cared for pieces that hold value in your wardrobe. Each piece will be made and designed to last as a piece for life, so long as they’re looked after. My website will contain a vast amount of information on the wool making process and why I only use sustainable wool, creating an informative space for people to also educate themselves on the benefits of wool. The brand will have a strong focus on using florals and connecting fashion to nature, all coming back to using materials that come from the earth, rather than dressing ourselves in plastic. Going into my final project I will research websites and brands that have a similar focus so help expand my ideas and give me inspiration, as I’d like to incorporate different features on the website to keep it current and interactive for the consumer.
In the last couple of weeks I have also experimented with photography in nature, telling a story through my imagery. I wanted to create a fantasy where she lives in the forest and feels one with nature and her surroundings. I chose a forest I am familiar with, Nercwys Forest (where I took my experimental photos), so I could understand the landscapes before taking the model. For the styling, I wanted to create a mythical feel, so by using floaty fabrics and cohesive colours I feel I was able to create that within each image. The clothing I used was all in my wardrobe already, elimiting the need to buy anything new. The pink scarf was my favourite piece from the images, we experimented with some photos with and without, as for some I don’t feel it was a necessary piece. However, I think it created the perfect effect I was looking to make, the colour palette of pink and black was mythical against the green landscapes, and the floaty scarf created the perfect layer between model and scenery. I’m very pleased with how the photos turned out as I think I have taken exactly what I had envisioned for the shoot. Going forward for further shoots, I will look into different locations as well as weather conditions. For my final project I can picture a shoot in a misty, dark field, displaying a wide open space that’s full of potential with my model at the centre.
I’ve attached photos of the crochet Lily I have made, as well as my scarf so far. I have placed where I want each square to go, all I need to do now is sew the pieces together, and add a double crochet stitch around the edges to give the scarf a clean finish. Once I have done this, I’m going to experiment with weaving ribbon through the holes.
