It was very affirming to see Biloela upcycler Kerrie leap into her REfashion projects with confidence, enthusiasm, creativitity and commitment to getting results that worked for her lifestyle and existing local resources.
There’s been some interesting discussion on Facebook after my friend Gen Robey shared a photo of waste clothing at Reedy Creek refuse station at the Gold Coast, which prompted reflection on why charitable recyclers are swamped with cast-offs every day and end up dumping them. The reasons I put forward are these:
1. Non-transparent global supply chains mean you can buy new so cheaply (ask Q who’s exploited in process and remember Rana Plaza)
2. Many people have lost simple sewing skills to mend and alter – can’t replace a button or cut off wayward (once-on-trend) feature to revive garment for second life.
3. Many are disempowered/unsure and believe they can’t self-style to suit themselves.
4. Many believe retail therapy/owning beautiful things will lead to wellbeing when mindful creativity is more rewarding in long-term.
5. Cheap self-interest and the peacock factor appear to be valued ahead of global ecological health.
6. Sustainable, ethical, eco fashion (not green-washed, hollow-men proxies) need to step up and out.
7. People say they are too busy to take charge of their own wardrobe … then spend ages shopping for something that will work with their shape (60% of us are not rake-thin models of the runway).
My model (excuse pun) for shifting society’s thinking around clothing and textiles is REfashion to stitch up a more authentic clothing story … beginning by sharing daily upcycling during 2014 on sewitagain.com at the vanguard of change in the way we dress. Bring on the REfashion Revolution!!!
It is great to chat with my brother Professor Tony Capon who is well-versed in bringing big-picture thinking to global issues and identifying how to craft a narrative and proposed options for shifting thinking in positive ways. Here we were last night, below, enjoying the majestic Petronas Towers from the unflashy but sensational dual-purpose Heli Lounge Bar in KL which doubles as a heliport by day then morphs into a stunning and friendly bar without edges at dusk. An uplifting experience.
Upcycler Kerrie was on a creative mission at the Biloela workshop (June 14-15) and it was ‘sew’ satisfying to see her pick up the ball and run with it. I had Sew 113 as an example for her to work with and brought long four pair of skinny jeans which she cut off the legs near the crutch and opened them out by cutting away the straightest seam (ie the least flaired). I think it was 4.5 legs (they were skinny) that were overlapped and sewn together by zigzag to wrap around Kerrie’s waist and have some leftover underneath. She used some of the seam trimming knotted to create a latch on front side, and sewed a few longer seams to act as a tie. Work to your own size to position these before sewing. Kerrie then invested time unpicking a pocket of each colour then sewed them in place as a feature on the skirt back. This skirt now features as Sew 175, with Kerrie as guest upcycler from Biloela session.
