Indigo Chrysanthemum

This dress was a sustainable design challenge using geometric shapes to achieve a zero waste garment design. All garment “pattern” pieces originated as either squares or rectangles and were draped on the dressform to develop the final design. My aesthetic goals for this design combine cultural and environmental sustainability by exploring the use of shibori in an apparel application, combined with the use of natural dye (indigo) to color the silk

Upcycle and Zero Waste Ensemble

The purposeful consideration of sustainable design criteria and processes move sustainable design to the next level. This ensemble combines three sustainable design practices: a zero-waste silk kimono top, an upcycled sweater skirt with matching leg warmers, and a naturally dyed silk scarf. The zero-waste, kimono-sleeved top of grey silk shantung georgette was quilted with a fine layer of polyester batting. Parallel lines were stitched with a double needle 1-inch apart across the width of the fabric. Drafted geometric shapes provide the pattern design for this top. The upcycled sweater skirt provided a creative challenge element. I challenged myself with the thoughtful deconstruction and creative transformation of a sweater into a new garment through the addition of crochet to reshape the sweater into a skirt by filling in the neckline, and finishing the edges. The crepe de chine silk scarf was nui shibori resist dyed with black rice dye

Denim and Silk Ensemble

This asymmetric denim jacket and silk and cotton wrap skirt is a study in sustainable design. The jacket was designed using upcycled Levi’s jeans. Worn jeans were partially disassembled and pieces draped on a dressform to develop the design. Pant legs transform into kimono sleeved and upper and lower back sections. Waistbands were used for the neckband and decorative wrap belt. Hems and seams are stitched in gold cotton thread. Cut edges were finished with a shibori printed cotton. Sashiko embroidery in navy and gold rayon yarn adds emphasis to the jacket. The hand dyed indigo wrap skirt is a zero-waste garment designed using two fabric rectangles. The silk satin organza outer skirt features nui shibori along the lower border. The inside layer is a remnant cotton sateen and has a nui shibori border on the inside center edge

Grand Canyon Waterfall

Use of natural dyes provides an opportunity for apparel designers to expand the creative process and follow the unknown. Exploring new dyestuff and dye techniques provides creative problems to solve. The purpose of this design was to explore a socially responsible and sustainable dye technique and utilize the resulting fabric in a design that would connect to the natural environment and provide a statement of social responsibility

Azaleas in the Evening

This flowing silk organza evening dress was designed using fabric hand dyed with azalea blossoms. It consists of three layers of silk organza designed in a low-waste, wrap-across-the-back style with asymmetric hem. I seek to constantly challenge myself by learning new dyeing, surface design, pattern making, and/or construction techniques, combining learned techniques in different ways. Exploration of the contact method of natural dyeing as a new textile design technique was my initial design goal. My second design goal was to seek out dyestuff sources that I had not used before when developing the color for this textile and garment design. Azalea blossoms were a readily available potential dyestuff and one that I had not used in previous designs. I found that use of these flowers as a dyestuff was an experimental opportunity, because no information was discovered regarding use of azaleas in either the historical or contemporary natural dye literature

FEA Consumer Needs Model: Looking Forward, Looking Back

The FEA Consumer Needs Model (Lamb & Kallal,1992) considers Functional, Expressive and Aesthetic criteria for apparel design. Since 1992, use of this model has gone beyond preparing student designers to understand consumer needs to use as a theoretical framework by practicing designers and design scholars. We assessed use of the FEA Consumer Needs Model and Apparel Design Framework within scholarly publications and found the paper has been cited by more than 100 different first authors; some with multiple publications citing the article, demonstrating its relevance and impact over time. In applications of this conceptual framework, authors used the consumer needs focus to assess FEA criteria for products for various consumer groups. Some altered the model by not including all three criteria, or adding additional criteria. Design solutions included functional design for health and well-being, sports apparel and smart clothing, fashion apparel, textiles, costumes, fashion history as inspiration, and non-apparel items

Zero Waste Patternmaking in the Classroom: Creative Approaches to Teaching Sustainable Design

The global apparel industry produces abundant waste and pollution during the processes intrinsic to each stage of the product life cycle. Fashion and apparel academic programs provide a unique opportunity to inform and supply fashion undergraduate students with the necessary skills and creative problem solving approaches to reducing the negative environmental impact of current apparel production processes

Commercialization of Adaptive Clothing: Toward a Movement of Inclusive Design

An analysis of the evolution of adaptive clothing was conducted through a review of relevant literature published from 1963 to 2017. The goal should be to create ready-to-wear clothing with adaptive features, thus helping individuals with disabilities to address their functional, expressive and aesthetic needs, while also eliminating the stigma of adaptive clothing. In order to reduce the stigma of adaptive clothing, while also enhancing the quality of life for people with disabilities, a change in the fashion industry must happen. Future designers need to be prepared for a market that encompasses all body types, not just the “normal” body shape. Thus, we propose to create an adaptive clothing design guide for apparel design instructors, students, designers and manufacturers to reference when designing new garments

Neo-Heritage Ensemble #1

Introduction. An important role of an academic historic clothing and textiles collection is to enhance the curricular programs of the Department. This is accomplished by the collection, preservation and exhibition of artifacts of historical significance in the area of fashion and apparel. While the artifacts are the result of practice, they also inspire further iteration. Dress studies, as object-based fashion scholarship, is an interdisciplinary approach to fashion research. The study of fashion artifacts provides insight into the cultural milieu or zeitgeist of a society during a particular point in time. (Prown,1982). The study of design can as well be viewed as object-based fashion scholarship. Learning how the parts constitute the whole through active engagement with material is foundational to design practice, as is the aim of discovering and accessing material’s inherent design qualities towards the creation of new structures (Salentik, 2007). Collaboration is a purposeful opportunity to expand a creative and experimental process with more detailed complex design thinking and analysis than is possible with only one designer (Campbell & Parsons, 2005). Through collaborative practice, the authors (as designers) found an opportunity to mesh skills and expertise in textile creation, apparel design and fashion history, and shared design exploration. The collaborators worked jointly to generate a shared process that resulted in The Neo-Heritage Ensemble