Spirit of the Black Dress 2013 Submission

“Everything has value, no matter how old or broken up, everything has a soul, an identity, behind everything there is a story, a story with a continuation”

-Sustainable Designer Naomi Maaravi

I feel it is important to up-cycle in a way that celebrates the origins of the garment, promoting the story of sustainability. My dress is made up of two components; a slim fitting dress and an open front skirt which together create a classic silhouette with contemporary detail. The outfit shows the design journey by continuing the language of the original garment, utilising the original finishings and showing the construction.   

The dress was created using components from two men’s trousers. By draping the pre-shaped panels, my design was created by how these shapes fitted in to each other as well as how they could be used around the body. This process is made evident in the skirt where the seams are turned out as a feature. The panels which had pockets on the original trousers have been reoriented to be just as usable on the new design. Lastly, the waistband and fly front zip have been utilised as a practical element, further adding to the ‘story’ of up-cycling.

My garment has a number of sustainable elements as outlined below:

Sutainable practice: By using pre-shaped panels and draping them onto the body, I have considerably reduced the use of resources including paper for patterning and fabric for toiling. Furthermore I was able to reduce energy consumed in sewing, by pinning seams to the outside and sewing them in one sitting.

Lifecycle: The dress is made up of two components; a fitted dress and an open front skirt which are able to be worn individually. Furthermore, the skirt can be rotated on the body to create attractive silhouettes as well as being reversible as the seams are designed to turn to the outside as a feature.

Sustainable Materials: My garment is made out of almost all of two pre-worn men’s trousers, using the separate panel pieces as they were and re orientating them to fit in to each other and around the body. I have utilised the panels with pockets so they are just as usable and one of the waistbands and zip as a practical fastening on the open front skirt.