Repair, remodel and rewear, these are the keywords behind "Thirsty for Fashion", an exhibition currently on at Killerton House, Exeter, UK.
Organised by the National Trust, the purpose of this event (on until 5th November) is to encourage visitors to think about our collective habits of buying fast fashion clothes and discarding them carelessly.
All the items included in the event (over 50 from the National Trust's fashion collection that boasts more than 20,000 items of historical clothing and accessories) have indeed one thing in common - they were at some point remodeled or repaired to be preserved for generations or passed down from mothers to daughters.
Shelley Tobin, National Trust Costume Curator at Killerton comments in a press release, "Recycling and reusing clothing is not a new idea, but something that has been commonplace throughout history. This exhibition asks the question - can we learn lessons from these past practices and reapply forgotten skills to looking after our clothes and make them more sustainable? The items exhibited show that we only need look to history to discover ways to ensure that the clothing we buy, make and wear is durable, ethical and avoids waste."
Waste is actually the first theme visitors are confronted with when visiting the exhibition, as T-shirts printed with facts about our collective consumption habits open the event. One of them reminds visitors that 70-100% of microplastics in deep sea sediment come from textile fibres; another that 300,000 tonnes of clothing ends in landfills every year in the UK.
The shocking statements are counterbalanced by a garment that prove that things can be done differently: a long-sleeved silk waistcoat from the late 1600s that was readapted throughout the centuries.
First the pocket flaps were removed and more fashionable vertical pockets were added; later on, the garment was transformed into a fancy-dress costume.
A dress from 1870 is instead the first example of transformative fashion: its skirt could be matched with a modest long-sleeved bodice for the day (View this photo) or a more sensual one for the evening (View this photo).
There are several repurposed silk gowns from the 18th and 19th century and examples of children's dresses (some of them feature exquisite details such as embroideries, smocking and pin-tucking) made from recycled fabrics from adult's gowns such as a child's party dress about 1930-40, remodelled from a silk gown from 1890.
But there's more to discover in between patched and mended leather stays from 1740-60, a darning sampler from the 1800s, two patchwork quilts made from recycled fabrics and a sumptuous silk wedding gown from 1840 remodelled to rewear in the 1940s.
Other ingenious examples include nylon parachute designs like an embroidered nightdress made during the Second World War when clothing and material were rationed, and a rather minimalist yet elegant dressing gown made in the late '40s by an Exeter woman with a surplus army blanket and sections of repurposed green woolen cloth (used for the trim and the belt).
On show at the exhibition there are also vintage films from the 1940s and '50s with advice on the "make do and mend" campaign and photographs of National Trust staff.
The National Trust volunteers at Killerton were involved in the event and shared their thoughts on personal recycled items, from a father's 1970s woolen Guernsey jumper to a mother's wedding dress passed onto her daughter.
In the last section of "Thirsty for Fashion", historical pieces are juxtaposed to modern ones by six contemporary designers and makers refashioning surplus stock to produce new clothing with no waste going to landfill. Among the designs featured there are also creations made with old denim by ELV Denim and Flora Colingwood-Norris's jumpers with colourful visible mending.
These designs prove that, while environmental concerns and the cost of living crisis, may be the main reasons behind a collective interest in recycling and remodelling clothes, some solutions are refreshing and fun and do not just extend the life of a garment, but push us to reimagine what we already own, adding unexpected twists to our everyday clothes.
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