Guide Me As I Grow

Category: Apparel

Through designing, I have become more appreciative and fascinated with the intricate structures and textures that surrounded me as a child in my garden, all grown by my mother. Through experimenting with natural dyes, hand pleating techniques and organic draping, this look pulls the viewer into an immersive world my mum created for me. I enjoy celebrating a hand-crafted and personal approach to designing, reflected in my collection. This look is curating by toiling and being progressively altered as it is made, valuing the craftsmanship in construction, whilst honouring the future of the planet through limited fabric waste. This look represents the roots in the soil surrounding my garden, the source of stability for the flowers that surrounded me at home. And so, the idea of sustainability is very important in my design process, as to keep this beautiful garden and planet alive, we need to be resourceful and mindful as to where our fabrics come from and how they are used. I believe my submission is original and innovative and its adopts techniques that can be used to promote zero waste. By pleating together strips of (scrap/dead-stock) fabric together, the shape of the fabric piece can grow and be manipulated into the required shapes needed for a specific pattern piece or size. With each garment promoting a unique look, as this process is entirely hand crafted, each look using this method can be personally curated and loved for a lifetime by its wearer. I promote the use of natural dyeing in my work using food waste from my hospitality job as a waitress at restaurant, Palmito, in Brighton who also share the same ethics in community and sustainability in the food industry as I do in fashion. I believe in order to create real change in supply chains and the life cycle of material, we need to come together at each stage of its lifetime.

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