Even though there is a vast amount of information concerning the negative environmental and social impact that the overproduction of fashion contributes to, the industry still manages to attract and make more people into consumers as they are playing on the human need and desire for renewal. In the light of the wasteful world of fast fashion this project aims to investigate how making together in a group can contribute to positive growth on a personal as well as on a more global level.
Here we create fashion using a basic set of criteria that are aligned to The School of Upsidedowncycling’s view that we already have enough of everything and why cant we just play with that for a bit.
We love to create environments for learning and experimentation. Spaces for expression. We believe that if you are comfortable in a place, you are more inclined to create. This feeling of acceptance and inclusivity may be achieved whether you are in a field or in a garage.
During the sessions we encourage the participants to challenge current structures and ways of thinking around materials and making. Normally we also start off by making a BIG MAMA. The BIG MAMA is a mini-dress similar to an oversized t-shirt. It is a catalyst element normally brought in to the making process to see how the participants interact with the given materials and each other and how this may vary between different contexts. Imagination is regarded as the main renewable resource that we all have.
The exhibitions are normally built up around the map dress which rests like a symbol for the global nature of textiles, clothing and fashion. The Life of a Dress exhibitions are traditionally featuring photos made in collaborations with amateur as well as professional photographers. Artworks and artefacts that have been produced or found along the way have been showcased to share ideas of what could be. An open workshops has then most often been placed to also invite the bypassing visitors to not only look but also to make and breath new life into this oddysse of what has been and what is becoming.
We also like to gather in smaller sessions where we create new designs from your areas of interest. We also happily organise sessions where you as a group work together for a few hours, this as part of a hen-do, birthday or other celebration event. These kind of activities can include tasks like making a love bag, a cushion, an eye pillow or any other for the moment useful process or object.