by Daniel Cornish
05/03/2020 - 24/04/2020
Summary
In lieu of returning to study I was determined to make a change, any change that I could to pave a way forward for fashion, in the mindset of caring for the environment and the people within it. It is not enough that I consume consciously knowing I am harming the planet, it's almost unavoidable, but how can we make our learnt habits of consuming, sustainable?
My teacher at R.M.I.T, Kate is a great conductor for ideas and knowledge, not just in the fashion industry, but, the industries that pollute the earth, this, I believe, is where our focus should be. Sustainable practice in fashion lies at the intersection of art, science, engineering and design, meaning, the "man-made" world around us is apart of the problem, we have over-consumed.
In this blog I will be documenting my findings and reflections on the research I have come across from a range of different texts and activities I have read/undergone. The "design tools" I have used will be documented as a source of the images that I have produced over the past 7 weeks; in a range of contrasting styles.
Notes on Designing a Sustainable Future
The main focus of the weeks that were and the weeks to come, revolves around the U.N's Sustainable Development Goals, (S.D.G's), to find Imagery that supports one of these goals, to expose the problems plaguing the industry to fellow fashion & textile students and a wider community of creatives.
Source: United Nations 2017, Sustainable Development Goals .:. Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform, Un.org.
The first goal I had centered myself around and responded to was S.D.G 12, wherein I devised a collage of a skull poisoning and consuming crops with sewing machines at the end of the crop field, going into plain woven, untreated cloth. I wanted to depict and bring to light the grave dangers and practices raw materials farmers and production workers are exposed to in the face of an industry that is killing them slowly. Photos I sourced online and from around the house.
Cotton Field: Vardeman, K 2009, Cotton Harvest, Flickr, viewed 15 April 2020, <https://www.flickr.com/photos/87542849@N00/4087371867>.
Skulls: Vecteezy 2020, Skull Vectors, Vecteezy, viewed 15 April 2020, <https://www.vecteezy.com/vector-art/93153-skull-vectors>.
Calico: Warwick Fabrics 2020, Warwick - Kumi Calico, shop.idealdrapemakers.com.au, Ideal Drape Makers, viewed 15 April 2020, <https://shop.idealdrapemakers.com.au/warwick-kumi-calico/>.
Extending from this I looked into an article about soil health from the United Nations news app. It is important to not that our natural raw material grow in this soil and many industries rely on high crop yields to sustain their profit margins. "To prevent and minimize soil erosion, farmers and other land users can adopt sustainable soil management practices under an enabling environment." (United Nations News 2019)
Defacing a symbol of our time
McDonald’s Corporation 2009, File:McDonald’s Golden Arches.svg - Wikimedia Commons, Wikimedia.org, viewed 20 April 2020, <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:McDonald%27s_Golden_Arches.svg>.
Whiteway, G 2020, G on a Petri Plate, Jooinn, viewed 20 April 2020, <https://jooinn.com/mold-6.html>.
I wanted to create an element of disgust with the McDonald's logo and make a point of an almost parody or mockery about their brand, creating an element of toxicity. This type of activism creates a powerful dialogue and conversation about what we are consuming. I decided to use copyright free images and changed the typeface of the logo so infringement wouldn't occur.
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