The Commission- Research

When I was looking into recycling clothing I came across some artists/designers who have recycled, reused and repaired there clothing to express there passion for recycling clothing.

‘The little brown dress’- Alex Martin

'The little brown dress' is a project by fashion blogger Alex Martin. For a year Martin wore same the brown dress every day from July 7th, 2005 to July 7th 2006. She made the dress herself designing it mostly on it practicalities so she can wear it in as many situations as possible throughout the year. When talking about the project she said: 

I challenged myself to reject the economic system that pushes over-consumption, and the bill of goods that has been sold, especially to women, about what makes a person good, attractive and interesting. Clothes are a big part of this image, and the expectation in time, effort, and financial investment is immense.

This project looks at mass consumption and how we are encouraged to by clothing or items that we don't need. In this project she proves that we don't need to constantly buy new clothes as by pairing one outfit with different items such as cardigans and accessories completely change the look and can update it. Throughout the year the brown dress went through some changes such as fading fabric and missing buttons by repairing the dress Martin could continue using it, she views the changes as additions to the dress's character similar to the changes she has undergone over the year. 

Sheena Matheiken- ‘The uniform project’
The Uniform project looks at sustainable fashion as one girl wore the same little black dress for a year. When speaking about the project Matheiken said "Think of it as wearing a daily uniform with enough creative license to make it look like I just crawled out of the Marquis de Sade's boudoir," She dressed up the black dress with accessories from second hand shops to highlight the power that recycling clothing can do. One of the aims of the project was too raise money for the Akanksha Foundation which is a campaign for schools for Indian children that are unable to get an education. Sheena say's "I was raised and schooled in India where uniforms were a mandate. Despite the imposed conformity, kids always found a way to bend the rules and flaunt a little personality. Boys rolled up their sleeves, wore over-sized swatches, and hiked up their pants to show off their high-tops. Girls obsessed over bangles, bindis and bad hairdos." This project proves how you can still look trendy by accessoring your outfits to make them look different so you don't have to keep buying clothing.

Jill Danyelles ‘Fiftyx3’

Jill Danyelle works on creative projects that deal with the ecology of our lives. Her project fiftyRX3 is about style and sustainability and is a photo documentary of what what she wore every day for a year which fifty percent of it was reused or recycled garments. Danyelle's mantra is reuse, reduce, and recycle, when talking about why ethical fashion is important she says 'ethics is part of ecology and evolution, part of learning, growing and surviving individually and as a race'. In an interview with Victoria & Albert museum she discusses what you can do to make a difference with ethical fashion these include 'pull out things I haven't worn in awhile, reinvent a piece or wear it in a different way, focus more on quality over quantity, buy clothing made from sustainable materials and buy vintage and second hand'. Her interview inspried me to include second hand or vintage clothing in my images as well as reinventing a piece by wearing it in a different way.