Fermented
Category: Apparel
Competitions: Fashion Competition [Now Closed]
Food preservation has been relevant since we became human. Using heat, air, water salt and acid to preserve natural ingredients to feed ourselves long term, were many methods based on our heritage. Through generations, we have evolved with our food preservation. We Dismantle and recreate natural objects using vessels. What lies within are simple natural ingredients that go through an exciting process to create something entirely different. It is not dissimilar to constructed knitted textiles. Through a deep understanding of our natural materials and a long process of combining these natural materials, we can create a one-of-a-kind knitted garment. I have explored these slow and amazing processes and the understanding of them through fermentation within my project. I have sourced and used sustainable dead stock alpaca wool and linen for sampling and worked with many techniques with my knitting machine and weaving in these ingredients to create an insight into our relationship with natural ingredients through the fermentation process and relating it to a knitted garment. My mission as a designer and within my design process is to use 100% natural fibres from start to finish. This would entail, using locally sourced alpaca wool and naturally dying it by hand with fermented natural ingredients, that are all plant and food-based, staying true to my design ethos. Natural dying allows me to create a truly one-off bespoke piece as every natural dye bath is unique. Using these historical, slow and sustainable processes gives me full control of my design and the longevity of my garment. The garment itself would have a lifetime guarantee for mending to ensure its long life span so that generations may hand it down and hopefully, one day go return to the land it has once come from and bio-degrade.
