Writing about Sustainable Fashion

On top of creating a fashion collection this year, we write a dissertation into a selected area of fashion theory. I have been writing the draft up this week, and thought I would share a bit of my proposal-

“The proposed research will examine how the appeal of sustainable fashion design is broadened by moving away from an eco chic aesthetic towards the concept of sensory aesthetics. It will demonstrate how this shift allows sustainability and style to coexist rather than compete in the fashion designer’s repertoire generating greater creative possibility and mainstream interest in a sustainable approach to clothing design. In doing so, the research will first define the current sustainable fashion aesthetic before it proposes an alternative sensory aesthetic, and look at how this different approach changes the fashion designing process. Case studies will be used to analyse how designers have incorporated the new aesthetic into their work by slowing down the consumption cycle, using local resources, and encouraging collaborative design. These examples will demonstrate the creative possibilities of sensory aesthetics and redefine a sustainable approach to fashion design without the limitations that were present in past notions of eco chic.”