Sustainability is a big trend in fashion at the moment and quite a few companies are integrating in their collections designs made with recycled fibres and textiles.
At the beginning of January, during the men's shows in London, Patrick Grant, Creative Director at E. Tautz, explored the possibilities of sustainability by producing 50% of his collection from repurposed textiles.
The latter were selected from unwanted clothes found in clothing recycling banks in the UK: industrial recycler Astco provided indeed second-hand garments such as cotton shirts and denim jeans, but also bed linen.
Grant added to the sustainable theme an art and craft twist thanks to the collaboration of some embroiderers extraordinaire – the students from the Royal College of Needlework (RSN).
Coordinated by visiting lecturer and textile artist Celia Pym, who led the darning workshops for this project, the Degree Students created subtle decorative motifs on ties and around pockets, they applied check patches on soft jumpers or created graphic juxtapositions with herringbone patches on check jackets.
Denim was reduced to strips that formed abstract motifs or letters on sweats, or it was layered and covered in stitching in garments that looked like hand-me-downs.
The result was a collection with a modern yet rough edge and a lived-in look, and that was based on the "make do & mend" lesson that previous generations learnt during World War II, when rationing prompted people to darn, unpick yarn and reknit sweaters, deconstruct and reconstruct coats and create items from discarded fabrics (from parachutes, for example).
Grant, has been trying to reduce waste also with other brands he works for including Norton & Sons of Savile Row and Community Clothing, and he conceives the use of embroideries in this collection as a code to spread the sustainability message, reminding people to buy less and love more one's clothing.
"Fashion is a celebration of the joy of creativity and craftsmanship," Grant stated in a RSN press release. "Our version of Fashion creates clothes that have meaning, clothes that are loved and cherished. Every piece is made to last. If you love your clothes, wear them until they wear out, and when they do, fix them. And when your clothes can no longer be fixed, recycle them. We are very grateful to the Royal School of Needlework whose students have resurrected and elevated the skills of needlework to give extra life to our garments."
So here's a lesson for you: buy less, learn how to make do and mend and, well, don't forget to add some embroidery as you go along.
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