TNT
Fashion
13
One Outfit at a Time one made entirely out of Luas tickets, the other out of used CDs and Aoife Lucey’s inventive, burlesque design in the shape of a wire and foil based corset. Both designers used material that created a strikingly dramatic effect with the reflection of the studio lights. Sinead O’Sullivan’s ingenious use of photograph negatives and old fabric and Kerrie Julia Forde’s funky dress inspired no less by a pint of Guiness, featured below, made a lasting impression while Sarah-Jane Shields feminine, floral gown made chiefly of tracing paper and reused brown paper bags graced the catwalk beautifully. The two newspaper dresses designed independently by Kathleen McCarron and Carol Mulligan proved that a bit of intuition and some every day material can be transformed into a piece of beautiful fashion fit for a walk down the red carpet. For final year English student Carol Mulligan it was the utility, resourcefulness and inexpensiveness of such a basic material as newspaper compared to other more pricey fabrics that inspired her design. It was difficult to imagine the source of material used by the students could have been found in the nearest wastepaper bin or local dump when the overall effect was more Prada than park-bench and more Couture than car-yard. The show skyrocketed towards a close, with breathtaking, larger than
life creations, such as Polly Minnett’s ‘The Faery Queen’ made entirely of recyclable material, and ‘Childsplay’ and ‘Entamonitor’, designs that experimented with the fusion of shape and material, capturing the imagination and fantasy of childhood dreams. In the last year, the fashion world has witnessed a revolution in the shape of Eco-politics, premiering at last year’s New York Fashion Week and spreading to fashion capitals London, Paris and Milan. Along-side top designers show casing American capital’s fashion week last year, suchas Dolce and Gabbana, Oscar de la Renta and Proenza Shouler, paraded models dressed head to toe in fabrics spun from bamboo, corn and organic organic cotton.The show was sponsed by Earth Pledge, a NewYork based nonprofit organisation that promotes environmental programs, challenging designers to create fashion using only fabrics that could be renewed and recycled and generated less pollution than conventional material. Fashion vetrans are optimistic that this new direction up the catwalk is more than just a flash in the pan gimmick and that the survival of the planet’s resources rely on the survival of eco-fashion as more than merely a current trend with a short shelf life. Marci Zaroff, founder of Under the Canopy, a line of clothing and
Gracing the cat-walk with fitted corset and ripped pantalons, a unique design by Irish company AJ home furnishings made from organic cotton and other natural fabrics, commented, “We’re taking the market from hippie to hip. Green is the new black.” Leading designer at New York fashion week, Heatherette’s Richie Rich remarked “ People often perceive the fashion world as superfical, so its great
A design fit for royalty, ‘The Faery Queen of the Demesne’ by Polly Minnett
to work with materials that are actually good for the environment. I had my doubts, but when we actually saw the fashion swatches we were blown away." Sustainable Technology Education Project (STEP) defines eco-fashions as clothes “that take into account the environment, the health of the consumerand the working conditions of people inthe fashion industry.” The fashion world is beginning to take this idea on board and while we can’t imagine the beauty market without products from companies such as The Body Shop, a £15 million business, in a few years, the fashion market may be flooded with eco-friendly clothing which have already began to cross into the mainstream. This year’s Trinity fashion show proved that good fashion doesn’t have to involve glamorous designers who have been on the sun-bed too long, cocaine fuelled models with pocket-sized pets, and expensive fabrics and that are worn once on the red carpet and then thrown away. If I’m honest, when I heard the words, ‘reusable, ‘recyclable’ and ‘eco-friendly’ I found it difficult to make the connection to the sophisticated world of fashion. What I witnessed, however, was an array of stunning fabrics, unique shapes and daring designs led by a team of people who set out to show that a love for fashion and a concern for our planet’s future can go hand and hand down the catwalk. After all, Eco-fashion need not be be an oxymoron.
For any queries regarding photographs email: Charliephotography@gmail. com.