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Day 7: Fashion Revolution

published on 7 May 2019

Explore the final day of the Fashion Revolution Tumblr curation, a collection of articles, quotes, images and resources that tell a different story about the clothes we wear, and inspire change in the fashion industry.

Explore the final day of the Fashion Revolution Tumblr curation, a collection of articles, quotes, images and resources that tell a different story about the clothes we wear, and inspire change in the fashion industry.

MANIFESTO FOR A FASHION REVOLUTION

10.Fashion lives to express, delight, reflect, protest, comfort, commiserate and share. Fashion never subjugates, denigrates, degrades, marginalises or compromises. Fashion celebrates life.

Sign the manifesto: https://www.fashionrevolution.org/manifesto/

Words by Tamsin Blanchard

Generation X grew up respecting their clothes. As children, they wore hand-me-downs, whether they liked it or not (and sometimes, their mothers and grandmothers made their clothes). As teenagers, they made their own, customised, safety pinned, they used their clothes to rebel. In the 90s they discovered ‘designer’ clothes they couldn’t afford. 

And then the high street discovered they could copy the catwalks and make their versions faster than the real thing. So Generation Y grew up wearing cheap and easy-to-wash clothes from the high street because it was cheaper to buy new. So cheap, they became addicted. Junk food; junk clothes, a generation raised to excess. 

And where does that leave Generation Z? With a world fat with clothes, a planet gasping for air. But fashion goes round in circles (even if the industry is not yet circular) and the 90s is cool again so who needs to buy new? 

Be disruptive. Your voice is a powerful tool. Together we can demand change, clean up the mess, say slow down, we have enough.

illustration by Lillie Meyer 

Fashion Revolution’s shoot for 2019, by photographer Lulu Ash and styled by Ellie Witt, is a series of intimate portraits of people wearing clothes made by designers who include artisanal and traditional crafts in their design DNA.

At Fashion Revolution we want to celebrate humanity and the earth and our role in protecting and respecting supply chain workers, women especially, as well as preserving nature’s resources.

Photographer: Lulu Ash: @luluashstudio

Producer: Poppy France: @poppyfrance

Photo Assistant: Andrew Goss: @andrewgossphoto

BTS Photography: Sam Bush: @sambush_

HMU: Poppy France: @poppyfrance

HMU Assistant: Jo Lorrimer: @jolorrimermakeup

Styling: Ellie Witt: @ejwitt

Casting: Sarah Bunter: @buntercastingarchive

Studio: Cloud and Horse: @cloudandhorse

Mdel: Ayokunmi Sule: @ayokunmi

Model: Ayokunmi Sule: @ayokunmi

Ayo wears: T-shirt by Merz B Schwanen at Antibad: @antibad @merzbschwanen Coat by Naushad Ali: @_naushadali_

Model: Coral Kwayie: @ckwayie

Coral wears: Top by Naushad Ali: @_naushadali_ Pearly Queen Necklace by Luc:e: @lu_lu_ce

Model: James Cunningham: @jamesgohc

James wears: Shirt by Oshadi: @oshadi_collection

Leo Carlton at Sarabande Foundation x FASHION OPEN STUDIO

CRAFTING FUTURES

Words by Kendall Robbins

Photos by Bethany Williams and Storyloom Films

In January 2018, British Council launched a collaboration with IMG Reliance (Lakmé Fashion Week) and Fashion Revolution in India under Crafting Futures, the British Council’s global programme supporting the future of craft through research, collaboration and education.

British designer Bethany Williams and filmmakers Storyloom Films came together on a residency in the Northeastern Indian state of Tripura led by local designer Aratrik Dev Varman of the brand Tilla, which took them on a journey to share ideas and explore a more inclusive fashion future wherein local craftspeople are seen as a valuable contributor.

Tripura is a small Indian state bordering Bangladesh, which is home to 19 different tribal communities. Unusually, these communities are matriarchal and weaving plays an important role in women’s daily lives. Women weave their own clothing in their spare time, which includes a wrapped narrow piece of breast cloth and a sarong. 

Traditionally, weaving is done on a loin loom or back strap loom, and the narrow strips of cloth are joined together to make larger textiles. The designs and colours of the textiles are unique and representative of each community, often relating back to their animistic religious beliefs. Most of the communities speak different dialects of Kokborok, a language without a script – meaning that all community wisdom and knowledge is passed on orally between generations. However, the sustainability of the practice is under threat due to the absence of hand-spinning, the introduction of a frame loom and the affordability and access to natural dyes and fibres.

Through the residencies, a series of films and creative outputs have been produced, which feature in this fanzine. By highlighting the stories of the women in Tripura, the purpose is to encourage readers to go out and explore their local communities, celebrate craftspeople and understand the unique role that craft and the handmade have to play in our identity and cultures.

Read more in Fashion Revolution’s Zine 004 FASHION CRAFT REVOLUTION

https://www.fashionrevolution.org/buy-fanzine-004-fashion-craft-revolution/

CONGREGATION DESIGN

Fashion Open Studio is a Fashion Revolution initiative to showcase select brands, designers and artisans who keep transparency and longevity at the heart of their practice. It’s a rare opportunity to meet the team behind the clothes and discover rising young designers and sustainability pioneers who are setting a new standard for fashion’s social and environmental responsibilities and answering the question, #whomademyclothes?

Last week, Congregation Design held a workshop at 50m to ‘up-cycle cycling shorts’.  Learn more about the collective here: http://hero-magazine.com/article/147814/these-young-designers-are-hosting-sustainability-workshops-and-talks/

FASHION’S FUTURE…

Thank you for following along with Fashion Revolution’s SHOWstudio takeover!

If you want to keep up with us, please follow along over on our Instagram. And, if you’d like to learn more about the future of the fashion industry, and how we can all contribute to a fairer and safer fashion paradigm, sign up for our free online course - registration is open now!

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