Fashioning the Future: Q&A with the graduates of LCF's Fashion Futures course
By Lottie Jackson
In a recent online event, Fashion Roundtable chatted with the graduates of the acclaimed Fashion Futures masters course at London College of Fashion. Discussion focused on how the students have explored sustainability through their work, burrowing into issues of meaning, society, gender, digital spaces and radical new technology. Dilys Williams, Director of Centre for Sustainable Fashion, opened the event, with Jodi Muter-Hamilton chairing the panel discussion that followed. Here we speak to four of the incredibly talented graduates who participated in the event — they explain the motivations behind their Final Masters Projects, their inspirations and how they believe the pandemic will shape sustainability in the fashion industry moving forwards.
ANIELA FIDLER
“Luxury is to participate, share, be heard and not judged. You do not need to consume luxury to be worthy”
For Aniela Fidler’s Final Masters Project she created lab-grown diamonds composed of items which hold emotional significance for the customer. Think childhood teddy bears, first beloved pets, a favourite book or even your EU passport. This focus on origin allows the customer of “Diamond Makers” to choose the meaning and emotional significance they want their diamond to have. The source is fully customisable, and the selection process is designed to trigger personal reflection. The intention of this project is to explore radical new future scenarios for fashion where, meaning, luxury and narratives take new forms.
Why did you choose to focus on lab-grown diamonds in your MA project? Were you first motivated by the huge ethical considerations surrounding diamonds?
The project is about diamonds, but I’m not interested in diamonds per se… I’m interested in emotion as a commodity, especially when it becomes a luxurious one. In this case, I was reaching love. Yes, initially I was motivated by the ethical considerations surrounding diamonds in a material sense, such as environmental devastation caused by their mining as well as long-lasting abuse of people physically sourcing them. But soon after I started my research I realised that my motivation was hugely emotional, diamonds represented emotion— and emotions in fashion are what I am truly interested in. I was outraged with the fact that we use diamonds, a stone with such a dark history and negative impact, to manifest love— one of the most powerful human filings.
On top of that, I was concerned with the narrative that connects diamonds and love through their supposed rarity. I really believe that the word needs and has an abundance of love. As a consequence, these narratives do not serve us. In my opinion they are completely unsustainable.
What is the process of creating lab-grown diamonds?
Lab-grown diamonds grow under high temperature and pressure. They are formed from carbon, which can be isolated from most types of organic ash. But I would argue that a diamond is less significant than the meaning that can emerge from its creation process. Simple adjustment of the source and the narrative associated with it can impact or even change a diamond's value entirely. I would risk the statement that diamond stone is “whatever” and the story, metaphorically speaking, is the ultimate diamond.
What’s the philosophical message behind creating diamonds from any personal or precious object? For you, does this redefine the notion of luxury?
My wider agenda is to listen and do not look for or dictate what the right answers are, so consequently, I would like to allow everyone to interpret the project for themselves. My personal discoveries were that as mass-communicators in fashion, we have the responsibility to create stories not only to sell products but also to comfort people emotionally. If the story is about the sacrifice and scarcity of love, maybe it’s not the direction we should go in. It might sell, but potentially it also robes us from our collective capacity to unconditionally empathise and connect with each other. Otherwise, we will compare, compete and consume to feel worthy.
We need validation, and validation is an emotional need. Period. As long as we don’t value our own stories, our sentiments, our differences and commonalities and often the mundane, we will continue willing to have this emotional void filled by simplistic fabricated commercial narratives that validate us with products. And we will continue consuming to feel loved or at least accepted.
In the world where emotional labour exists widely unnoticed and suppressing feelings are the norm, where we are getting desensitised by media and becoming more and more alienated, connecting with others and coming together through the shared appreciation of our own unique complex experiences is a luxury. As opposed to proving yourself through association with simplistic commercial product narratives that dare to define how we should express our virtues. Luxury is to participate, share, be heard and not judged. You do not need to consume luxury to be worthy. To have the freedom and privilege to prefer and choose cake over a diamond.
What are the sustainability implications of creating diamonds from these emotive sources? It seems to hold a powerful message in encouraging a greater emotional connection to the items we buy.
Yes, I strongly believe that products that surround us help us define who we are in the world but, as consumers, we rarely have the power to consciously decide on the meaning of products that come our way. We make decisions based on trends and often short-lived positive feelings towards the latest thing we were influenced to want. So instead of defining ourselves through fashion, we are encouraged to re-invent ourselves seasonally with accordance to the fashion market but often against our mental health.
But making a diamond in the ‘Diamond Makers Lab’, it’s slightly different. You need to reflect upon and choose what you value before you turn it into a diamond. So a diamond is a by-product and your story and sentiment are what matters. Also, I bet that there are many things that you wouldn’t sacrifice by burning them into ash necessary to make diamond because you care about them too much. And these feelings of appreciation and sentiment are in my opinion, potential seeds of behaviour that could bring more satisfaction and longevity to fashion.
How do you think the pandemic will shape fashion’s approach to sustainability? Are you optimistic?
I’m still watching and experiencing how we as humans come together in the ways that we haven’t imagined before and I would describe them as positive. Expanding mass-imagination is what we need and COVID, as traumatic as it is, has created a perfect opportunity to question how we live and operate. I’m sure it will shape fashion’s approach to sustainability because it will shape us individually and then we will negotiate what sustainability in fashion is.
I would say I’m radically optimistic because it’s difficult to be. As long as we don’t appreciate our own stories, and ourselves we will be vulnerable to seek toxic levels of validation through consumption. Including ‘sustainable fashion’ consumption. I believe we can see through what we’ve been taught and told but when it comes to acting... we strive to belong and be accepted at all cost and I don’t blame us! It’s our primal animalistic need and for our brain, it is still a matter of survival. We have well established systemic mechanisms, much older than capitalism itself, that make us compete and diminish diversity and equality, while fashion is grounded in status, judgement and comparison. So I hope for the narratives that will encourage listening and help us co-discover tools that we can use in fashion to validate each other, beyond products and no matter the circumstances. And yes, I believe they are possible-ish. If I look under a certain angle, I think I can see that pandemic brought our shared humanity to the surface so maybe that is a good start?
If you had to choose one person, who most inspires your work?
Plenty of people but I’m obsessed with Daisy Ginsberg’s work right now as she investigates the human impulse to “better” the world.
What are your career motivations and where do you see yourself in 5 years time?
I see myself as an open person. Learning, questioning, sharing and refining my ideas is my goal. My ‘career’ is in a ‘sustainability industry’ and I came to it by wanting to be a 'good person' but I still don’t know what it means. My priority is to keep on re-discovering it as I go. I’m a designer working with art and science and I’m planning to create more bad and good projects that challenge and broaden the understanding of what fashion is and its role in the world. I’m very honoured to be a part of the Knowledge Exchange team at the Centre for Sustainable Fashion and I grow with them every day. In five years I see myself with a higher appreciation of stories surrounding me and with improved skills to share them and expose their beauty through fashion. Because every story is a diamond. I also see myself working collaboratively with others (designers, scientists, psychologist, policymakers and more) on the narratives that could serve our, and the planetary’s, wellbeing.
DEBORAH DE MELLO
“Fashion is about serving people. We need to be more inclusive in order to serve people better”
Deborah de Mello explores how fashion plays a role in setting unachievable standards for how women should look and dress. She exposes the implicit rule that women will only be considered “accomplished” if they have the perfect body. Interviewing 11 Brazilian women about whether clothes disrupt their relationships with their bodies, she tells the story of how fashion is affecting women, not only mentally but physically as well. The intention was to illustrate how fashion affects self-esteem, and how the fashion industry must portray a much more realistic and diverse version of female bodies.
Your MA project is titled 'Untold Stories About Unseen Bodies', why do you feel there is such stigma, silence and shame surrounding female bodies? Your focus is on Brazilian women, are these issues particularly heightened for them?
There are a lot of historical reasons for that, but during my research I focused a lot on gender inequality, and how the female body was used as a way to make women feel less valued. There is an over sexualization of the female body, and one of the reasons why this happens is because as a society we are used to seeing the female body through the male gaze. We are also not taught to have our own opinions about our bodies, we tend to believe that everyone else’s opinions about them are more important than ours, so we are constantly worried about what other people think. I do not believe those issues are particularly heightened for Brazilian women, but I believe they expressed themselves in a different way. Our culture in Brazil is much more focused on body, which in a way can help women feel more comfortable about wearing more revealing clothing for example, but at the same time, women are very heavily valued based in their appearances, and they are much more sexualized as well, which can bring even more shame to the way they see their bodies.
Do you feel fashion is a vehicle of oppression as well as empowerment?
Absolutely. For many people fashion is a way of empowerment as it allows them to express themselves, to show the world who they are. But for many other people, it works exactly the opposite way. Fashion is a constant reminder that if you don’t look in a certain way, you will never be accomplished enough. And for bigger women the oppression is much worse, as for many of them it is not only about the lack of representation, but also the fact that they cannot find fashionable products that fit them, as many fashion brands refuse to embrace bigger sizes.
How do you feel fashion can improve its portrayal of female bodies, so they are more realistic and diverse? According to your research, what are some of the benefits for women?
There should be a more diverse range of people working in all levels of fashion, I believe that this is the best way that we can start telling new stories. I have worked in customer service roles for over two years, and I see fashion as a way to serve people. It is not only about using a bigger woman as your model or as the face of your campaign, but it is also about listening to that woman, and understanding how fashion is serving her, and what we need to improve in that service. During my research, I exposed women to realist images of my own body, and it was very interesting to see the reactions they had to it. They all had preconceived ideas of what my body looked like, but when I showed them the pictures, many of them told me that they saw themselves in them; many of them mentioned it was the first time they were seeing in someone else what they considered to be their own flaws. By having a more realistic portrayal of female bodies, fashion will be serving women better, and in return women will develop a healthier relationship with fashion.
Are sustainability and inclusivity in fashion intrinsically linked?
Yes. As I mentioned, fashion is about serving people, and we need to be more inclusive in order to serve people better. Sustainability in fashion is about helping people create a healthier relationship with clothing, therefore it is essential that we understand the realities of different people. Otherwise, sustainability narratives will only resonate to a small number of individuals.
How do you think the pandemic will shape fashion’s approach to these issues? Are you optimistic?
I am very optimistic about inclusivity in fashion, especially after the pandemic. During lockdown I have seen many people rethinking their relationships with fashion and with their bodies. There are a lot of people who are wearing more comfortable clothing now, and I think this is making people finally see that clothes should fit to their bodies, not the opposite. So I believe that from now on, designers will have to be more considered about different body types while designing their collections.
If you had to choose one person, who most inspires your work?
I am very inspired by Sinéad Burke, who is a little person and an advocate for inclusivity in fashion. The first time I heard her talking about inclusivity was in a video from the BoF Voices 2017, ever since then, I became obsessed about her. She is incredibly smart and has an amazing story, but what inspires me the most about her is that she is very funny, relatable and she makes her points very easily to understand and to agree with.
What are your career motivations and where do you see yourself in 5 years time?
I have always had a really hard time answering the question “where do you see yourself in 5 years”, because I change my mind a lot. But the one thing that has always been a constant throughout my fashion journey is that I have always told stories, that is what drives me. So I see myself finding new ways of telling stories around female experiences and more ethical ways of living.
JADE MCSORLEY
“Just like transparency regarding sustainable fashion, we need transparency throughout images and to understand who is creating these virtual assets. We should be using technology to offer more control – not less – and approaching our digital environments with a sense of ‘mindful virtuality’”
Jade McSorley examines how digital clothing and avatars are now becoming marketing tools for fashion brands, created through collaboration between diverse industries to achieve a new form of immaterial fashion. Digital clothing is often seen as the sustainable solution for fashion industry’s detrimental environmental effects. But, she argues that we need to urgently question the cultural and psychological impact on the consumer: will virtual clothing redefine our understanding of ownership? And will the cost of a multiphrenic identity come with a psychological price?
Why did you choose to focus on digital fashion in your MA project? Were you first motivated by the ethical implications of clothing manufacture?
I never thought I would ever focus my MA project on digital fashion. Being from a modelling background, I wanted to step away from online images as I felt that images existing in a digital space had the tendency to paint a picture of that wasn’t real – it could be easily manipulated and present something that was false, which ultimately could have an effect upon mental well-being. But as I delved more into where fashion lies in our digital world, I felt that what I was fearing the most was what I needed to challenge and question. If we are spending more of our time online, whether we would like to or not, how does dressing for online become part of our consumption behaviour and how does this have an impact on our digital identity and mental well-being. My project became more of a provocation of what we want to see when it comes to digital fashion and identity. How can we take back control - not only of fashion’s sustainability but also take back control of how we present ourselves to world and the choices we make. How can we approach the digital space mindfully?
Is sustainability the sole motivation behind digital fashion collections? Or does it have other benefits?
Sustainability is a tricky one to class as a motivation when you look more into digital fashion. At first it seems like the obvious solution to solving our consumption of physical garments. If they don’t exist, then they must be more sustainable? However, that’s not the case when you think of the carbon footprint of the internet which contributes to 3.7% of global greenhouse emissions and this set to rise. But, like most aspects of sustainability, it's about compromise and more research needs to be done to way up whether digital needs more/less resources than physical. What digital fashion does is offer alternatives to making and selling clothes – not everything does have to exist. Samples of clothes can be designed digitally, for example.
The benefits of digital fashion are the creativity of expression that can go beyond the limits of the physical. Video gamers for instance can channel their inner desires and create avatars that feel like an extension of themselves or create an avatar that may provide escapism. In a time where we are trying to connect more but can’t leave our homes because of covid-19, our avatars can exist within an online community that can engage and converse with other online avatars (think of Fortnite and Animal Crossing). Virtual skins, face filters, digital fashion- these can all add to our way of self-expression and be constantly updated and renewed without the need to buy anything physically new.
What are the philosophical and psychological implications of creating fashion that is experienced virtually? What happens when garments are no longer tactile entities that are worn on the physical body?
The physical is never going to be replaced by digital. I wouldn’t want that myself! As a model I understand the connection and movement needed to embody a garment. Whilst you might not have that tactile experience in the virtual world (yet) you can still have an emotional connection with a digital garment. Gamers call this ‘game feel’ where they experience a relationship with virtual items - such as buying a specific virtual skin that they can show off to other players within the game.
Just because digital fashion isn’t ‘real’ it doesn’t have to lose any value or meaning. I would argue that fast fashion purchases offer less meaning and value due to its overconsumption and disposability. Digital fashion can offer new levels of value and communication. For example, Hanifa, a Congolese designer showcased her new collection digitally and used Instagram as the platform. Hanifa’s ghost-like 3D renderings replaced the models and had the clothes seemingly walk themselves through a black void. Not only did technology help her communicate her powerful message about the impact of mining within Congo and the inspiration of her collection, she also presented an element of diversity and celebrated female power and strength that many could connect with.
However, I do worry about the philosophical and psychological implications of creating fashion that is experienced virtually. Fashion models have a responsible to send a message through images and are often ambassadors of a brand. When you see digital model avatars speaking out on Instagram about politics, gracing fashion covers and being the face of brands, this raises a red flag. These avatars are created (usually by men) and their voices, thoughts and opinions are formed by their creators. For me, this feels like another objectified version of a woman that presents ‘the ideal’ beauty. Real-life models have often been at the centre of criticism for a while and it has only been until recently the fashion industry is embracing diveristy to support well-being and real-life models are becoming activists in their own right. Just like transparency regarding sustainable fashion, we need transparency throughout images and to understand who is creating these virtual assets. We should be using technology to offer more control – not less – and approaching our digital environments with a sense of ‘mindful virtuality’. By asking these questions, whether we like it or not we are evolving towards a digital future, and these are the questions we need to be asking now rather than too late.
Do you think the move to virtual fashion week could be a turning point for more digital fashion collections?
I don’t think it will replace the physical shows but I do think it open a new doorway for fashion to blend the physical and digital, which I feel will be for benefit of the fashion industry. The pandemic has really forced the industry to embrace technology and start to experiment with its capabilities. I would hope that after things return to ‘normal’ then brands will continue to use technology for creativity rather that necessity. I would say that fashion has been digital this season but not virtual – as virtual offers a level of immersion from the viewer which would transform the whole fashion experience. Imagine you could immerse yourself in the world of Chanel instead of only the front row being lucky enough to witness the one-time event? What digital/virtual fashion weeks can offer is an accessible and democratized fashion industry that can present an access-all-areas to every fashion lover. Regarding sustainability, to put on a fashion show is an excessive amount of money and resources, from production to flying audiences and models in from all over the world. What digital platforms allow is audiences to witness the experience at the same time without the need for over-production and travel.
How do you think the pandemic will shape fashion’s approach to sustainability? Are you optimistic?
I am optimistic! I can see that some traditional fashion houses are eager to get back to traditional practices but the pandemic has only perpetuated the need for fashion to really reset and refocus its values. Look at Gucci, for example, who has decided to quit the fashion week schedule and focus on more intimate shows that feel right to them. Who says you must have two fashion seasons a year in every hotspot? It’s a habit that we have adopted that drives our need to update our wardrobes. The pandemic, I hope, has broken the cycle and we need to rebuild it to one that is truly in keeping with the planet and its resources. From a consumer standpoint, I think there has been rising demand pre-pandemic and brands/retailers/designers have been slow on the uptake. I think it will be the new start-ups, driven by the passion of the next generation that will really build the sustainable fashion future.
If you had to choose one person, who most inspires your work?
I would have to say Alexandria Orcasio-Cortez. Her dedication, commitment and her strength against adversity is truly admirable. My friends and I often ask ourselves: “What would AOC do?” if we are lacking in confidence and we feel we just can’t keep going. It’s always harder to do the things that make the most difference.
What are your career motivations? And where do you see yourself in 5 years time?
My motivation is to make a change from within the industry. I used to think I couldn’t change the system because I worked within in it for so long and I felt that there were set rules and locked doors at every turn. But you can make a difference in the most subtle ways but with a huge impact. I am currently working for the Fashion Innovation Agency at LCF which allows me to explore the world of technology and how tech can help assist fashion towards a creative, sustainable and innovative future. Alongside this I am building a fashion rental app with my female co-founders called LoanHood. Our mission to build an inclusive fashion community where being sustainable is accessible to everyone. It’s time we as consumers take back control and I believe that’s where the power lies @loanhood, I hope that within 5 years I have helped to shape a new fashion future where ‘being’ is more important that ‘having’. Whichever way we try to express ourselves, whether physically or digitally, fashion will always play a part in that. And, of course, LoanHood will lead a global fashion rental movement of Loaners.
NAYANIKA BHARADWAJ
“Craft has always been an important part of sustainable practice, but it has so much more power than previously imagined. It has always been an antithesis to the growth-driven system that focuses on ‘new’ and ‘cheap’”
For Nayanika Bharadwaj’s Final Masters Project she explores the role of craft and its links with activism and innovation— all within the larger spectrum of sustainability in fashion and design. The different notional meanings attached to activism and innovation are also explored, as well as their interconnectivity to the storytelling values embodied in craft. She also presents a compelling case for the synergy between crafting and the fast-paced digital era. Her stunning illustrated zine contains interviews, map, manifesto, and more.
Why did you choose to focus on the role of craft in your MA project? How do you envision craft creating a radical sustainable future?
I am Indian and studied fashion design in India on my undergraduate degree where craft studies played an integral role. India has a very rich and diverse craft heritage but the most common narrative in the fashion world is of helping to sustain craft and its makers and providing livelihoods. I wanted to look beyond heritage craft, and explore how craft can be an invaluable part of sustainable practice, more activist, political and empowered to amplify stories. Activism and innovation themselves are not words you immediately associate with craft, and even the meaning of activism can be so varied. Some people assume it’s loud campaigning on the streets when in fact you can be activist in so many different ways, including in the decisions you make, while making and consuming.
Craft, whether it be heritage craft or the democratic versions including mending and upcycling, has always been an important part of sustainable practice, but it has so much more power than previously imagined. It has always been an antithesis to the growth-driven system that focuses on ‘new’ and ‘cheap’. What I learnt from my research and the people I interviewed, was that the essential attributes of craft practice have the power to foster creativity, inclusion, personal agency (such as mending) and community collaboration (such as knit-in circles). Even heritage craft, through engaged collaboration, co-design and eco-literacy has the power to both empower the makers and create tangible ripples of impact in the ecosystem. Craft provides meaning and value to making, and can be used in alternative processes or mediums that are disruptive in a conventional fashion system (anything from Faber Futures' bacterial-dyed silk to Malai's leather from coconut waste), with innovation and technology playing important roles in the interaction with craft to produce sustainable, radical and even, creative results.
Craft is often viewed as antithetical to the fast-paced digital era. With this is mind, how do you reconcile the history of craft with the technological 21st century?
Many argue that we’ve lost a sense of who we are as we get consumed in an automated world, and this is especially true in the fashion industry, where cheap fast fashion is aided by social media trends. But technology does not have to sit in opposition to craft, because digitalisation and innovation through technology is the need of the hour as well. Technology can help craft’s stories be amplified more, be it through simple mediums such as Whatsapp which craftspeople in India are using to personally reach customers on the other side of the country, all the way up to more complex, immersive mediums such as Augmented Reality that can help consumers engage with the story of the product.
Even in the making, we have designers experimenting with 3D printing, itself termed as digital craft, creating hybrid products such as 3D printed woven baskets created by Amit Zoran (a researcher at the MIT Media Lab) in collaboration with African weavers in Botswana. Crafting Plastics, a Berlin and Bratislava studio, combines craft and technology to create eyewear from bioplastics, biodegradable and more environmentally sound than conventional ones on the market. It all depends on how we explore and consume it, for what purpose and how we maintain the essence of craft. I firmly believe that technology when explored with the right intentions, and harnessed through an informed yet experimental lens, craft can awaken different dimensions to our innate creativity.
You use the interesting term ‘craft utopia’ in your MA work, what does this concept mean to you?
I believe the first step in creating change is using imagination to create a vision of what an ideal system would look like, so I used speculative design to imagine a world with an altered perception of value. What if we value human skills and the human hand, emotional attachments, stories, maintenance and simply taking care of the products we own? How could we meaningfully engage with fashion, and how can craft processes help foster these deeper connections? These are the questions I sought to answer in my illustrations of this utopic world in which craft lives.
Can you give an example of how craft has been effectively used for a political cause?
One of the biggest historical examples is of Mahatma Gandhi’s advocacy of Khadi – hand spun and handwoven cloth – that was seen as a call for Indians to boycott cheap British-made cloth and instead foster a revival of the dying Indian handloom industry, during the Indian Independence Movement. This form of activism has had a profound effect; khadi is still supported by and marketed by the Indian textile industry as something inherently non-industrialised, sustainable and intrinsically Indian.
Sarah Corbett’s Craftivist Collective is an interesting contemporary example of ‘quiet activism’, that has helped change government laws and business policies. One of their projects is hand-embroidering messages on handkerchiefs to be sent to MPs in the UK, successfully allowing themselves to be heard. Through this unique, thoughtful and personal medium they’ve even been instrumental in getting companies to address pertinent issues, particularly M&S, encouraging them to pay a living wage, which the Board of M&S recognised and acknowledged.
How do you think the pandemic will shape fashion’s approach to sustainability? Are you optimistic?
I am cautiously optimistic about the future of fashion. There is a definite rise in businesses understanding how to shape their core values around sustainability, in consumer activism as they understand the impact of their decisions, and a rise in pioneers using hybrid, creative, experimental approaches to create new systems of making and business. The pandemic has jolted businesses into rethinking their values and redefining what sustainability means to them. They’ve had to step up in difficult situations, and this has largely been due to consumer’s expectations from them as well. At the same time, I know the fashion system is incredibly complex and the issues are extremely deep-rooted. We need to go beyond a surface-level approach that focuses on quick fixes and instead need to be far more ambitious with the change we are aiming to make, across the entire system.
If you had to choose one person, who most inspires your work?
It’s impossible to pick one. There are so many people whose words and work inspire me every day; Simone Cipriani, Kalpona Akter, Faith Robinson, Mostafiz Uddin, Safia Minney, Otto von Busch, Liva Firth, Kate Fletcher, Leyla Acaroglu, my classmates on MAFF and my own thesis supervisor, Dr. Francesco Mazzarella. My work has been largely inspired by the Centre for Sustainable Fashion’s approach to sustainability, that mixes creative practice with a deep-rooted research and systems thinking approach.
What are your career motivations and where do you see yourself in 5 years time?
I like to say that I thrive in the intersection between connecting the dots and choosing the colour to connect the dots with. I see myself in the intersection between research, storytelling and strategy for sustainable fashion, working on projects of even larger scale and impact— be it in craft, supply chains or circular economies. Most of all, I see myself still being passionate about my work and the impact I am having through it, and enjoying every minute of it.