THIRD LIFE
A fashion collection exploring the theories and practices of modern sustainability Georgina Pola
“Fashion... is a great Promoter of Trade, because it occasions the Expense of Cloaths, before the old ones are worn out; It is the Spirit and Life of Trade,� Nicolas Barbon, 1690
The 2020 collection imagines reinvigorated and modernised fashion, empowered by sustainable practices including upcycling, recycling and resource-sharing. The collection seeks to highlight these processes by applying literature theory such as Deconstruction, Marxism and Semiotics to explore how fashion can move forward and be galvanized through more meaningful creations. This collection uses repurposed materials to deconstruct fashion parts and reevaluate their position and meaning on a body. This is achieved by combining and mixing a chaotic and energetic range of styles, fabrics, industrial materials and colours. Materials were also sourced from personal excess stock, op shops, and donations from high end local brands, as well as items already disposed of as waste. Designed prints were also incorporated to complement these materials by utilising a similar intrinsic process of collage and serendipitous combinations. It is particularly important, and must be a priority for the fashion industry, to explore how plastics and discarded clothing can be repurposed and reinterpreted as valuable and unique fashion items.
design inspiration
The work of Maison Martin Margiela is a prominent source of inspiration for the collection because of their iconic exploration of Deconstruction in the 1990s that continues today under the helm of John Galliano. The use of plastics combined with the deliberate raw and rough seams as well as the idea of the ‘trace’ of the tailor’s marking are inspiring visualisations of Jacques Derrida’s philosophies. In a more deliberate and raw display of reusing clothing, the Undercover Fall 2006 collection provides a fantastic example of not only reusing clothing, but reinterpreting the pieces as an entirely new garment. This was a key inspiration for my hero look’s skirt.
More modern brands across the world are undertaking unique and innovative ways to upcycle clothing. The gothic-Catholic inspired Spring Summer 2021 collection by Boramy Viguier did this particularly well in their clothing and also accessories including masks. Their 3D technical videos and imagery also was a source of inspiration for presenting looks. Perhaps the best combination of upcycling and meaningful, yet fun and spontaneous collections are made by Dutch designer Duran Lantink. His eponymous label utilises other high fashion label’s ‘deadstock’ and second-hand clothing to reimagine them into new garments through their unconventional collaborations. The result is a highly unique and striking style that reinvigorates the sustainable clothing process.
print inspiration
print experiments
The print inspiration is heavily inspired by vibrant and contrasting mixes of colour. This is best seen in the designs of Rose Danford Philips and her surrealist floral and nature inspired prints. The colours are also heavily influenced by the paintings by artist Alex Kuznetsov. The prints above are created using these design ideas but instead seek to find these contrasting colours and elements through the digital mixing of found media. Similar to the process of clothing upcycling, the creation of these prints relies on serendipitous collections and playful combinations. These key prints are arranged as a ‘block’ then repeated as a tile pattern.
moodboard
print creation
Taking the process of serendipitous print design further, the collection’s moodboard has been deconstructed and reinterpreted as a print. This was achieved by firstly flattening the moodboard as a singular image, then cutting, stretching, displacing and resizing elements of the images until they are no longer visible as individual objects. These blocks of colours and combinations are further played with until, similar to a jigsaw puzzle, the pieces ‘fit.’ This block image is then exported and vectorised for better quality prints. The final print is then achieved by tiling in a pattern ready for printing.
look 1
skirt creation
bodice creation
The creation of the hero skirt was a totally unique and unusual practice to undertake. Two and a half men’s suit jackets acquired from opshops were cut into individual pieces and fashioned into a functional women’s skirt. This was achieved through the draping of each cut garment piece by piece and finding the most interesting and unique ways to position it on the body, while also paying attention to the way in which the ‘fabric’ or the piece naturally wanted to sit and fall on the body. The end result sees the shoulder pads sitting around the hips for an emphasised look as well as the other parts of the shoulders and arms falling in curved and pleated ways. What was once a centre back seam of a suit jacket became the opening with an invisible zip while the backs and sides of the collars became a waistband. The leftover sleeves were wrapped around the front of the body and can be buttoned into different positions with the existing buttons and buttonholes. The bodice was made from recycled sailing fabric delicately retrieved from a dumpster. The fabric provided a fun and unique opportunity to repurpose what would usually be in landfill and its particular water proof and stiff qualities make it all the more rare. The material was made into a futuristic type halter bodice with princess line darts. This is worn with the custom made print as a raglan stretch shirt underneath the bodice thus combining the old inspired skirt, with the cyber-punk inpsired bodice with more colour.
look 2
look 2 creation
This men’s look started with the use of the collaged face print that is the key motif of the collection. This was printed into like fabric and sewn into an old men’s button up shirt by cutting out a key section of the front and the sleeve. The shirt is worn with similarly upcycled men’s pants that have been dyed and cut through the centre of both front and back legs. On the front legs, the pieces were taken in for sizing, and sewn back in the wrong way for exposed seams. The pockets on these pants were also flipped open and exposed from the outside but remain functional. The same process was completed for the back of the pants. The long coat was bought from an opshop and was lined with the most vibrant and curious blue colour that was removed and later repurposed. The front had over time experienced ‘bubbling’ from the detachment of the main fabric and the fusing so this was an opportunity to cut through the front and unstick this area creating a long time of front flap. Over the top of this for a double effect was a piece of recycled plastic watersports fabric that looks similar to leather. The side seams under the arms and through the back were removed and resewn the wrong way for a rough exposed look, but edge stitched on one side back down for stability. The insides of the coat remained exposed and deconstructed but were secured around the edges to avoid further fraying.
look 3
look 3 creation
Similar to the hero skirt, this dress process involved the using of unconventional leftover materials. The coat lining from the previous body was removed entirely, with some prior seams still held together and others detached completely. These individual pieces were draped along the body of a mannequin until a full dress was created. Details such as the lining pockets still remain in the dress and the length was even kept the same. The dress maintains a balance of controlled draping and manipulated areas to make the dress stable to wear. Two zips were added into the dress as well as a hook and eye on the side for the curved raw edge around the arm as well as a hook and eye around the raw edged high neck. The dress uses all pieces of the lining and has an unconventional asymmetrical silhouette and backless shape.
look 4
look 4 creation
The fourth body in the collection features a upcycled men’s suit jacket that has been resized for womenswear. The jacket also features recycled plastic embelished onto the waist and layered shoulder pads on top of the exposed and existing shoulders. The jacket is worn with full length custom print tights as well as recycled designer stretch fabric as a top. The look is accessorised with a ruffled and resized belt from the motorcycle jacket.
look 5
look 5 creation
The fifth look features a hybridized and upcycled combination of a suit jacket with a motorcycle jacket. Elements of both garments feature in the new jacket including a combined collar and padding sewn into the back of the coat. The pockets of both the motorcycle jacket and the suit are combined to give the look of binded blue suit jacket pockets. The motorcycle’s arms are kept with the existing tough padding inside for shape while the fronts of the jacket are sewn into the suit as front flaps. This is worn with resized and dyed pants along with recycled designer fabric as a men’s stretch top.
key imagery