Quick and Easy Illustrations by Mai Manaloto
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Fashion design is recognized as the art of giving shape to clothing commodities. It is the artificial conception and planning of the fabric, silhouette, cut, color, texture, emphasis, rhythm amongst other design elements. The purpose of design was to improve the appearance of a product according to Henry Cole, a key figure in design reforms. However, given the growing culture of sustainability, it begs the question - is design’s purpose only to improve the artificial? Fashion design is often viewed as a form of entertainment, and for indulgence while the world grapples with serious problems. Fashion’s growing influence however makes it capable of redefining its purpose to reorder its place in the world rather than simply shaping the artificial.
Sustainability has shifted from idealism to a necessity in the realm of fashion as the clothing industry has become the second largest pollutant in the world, next to oil. Designs are crucial in fashion as it drives sales, but the fashion industry must disengage itself from setting consumer desires as their primary identity shaper and find a ground where they can rethink their role in the global order. Demand for fashion goods and services will change as its practitioners develop a new consciousness. This means designers and retailers becoming more informed and responsible about the impact of their actions. Recognizing that whatever piece of clothing they make has an impact on the environment. And truth be told, the ecological impact of clothing is not positive.
Fashion is a complex business composed of various supply chains including garment design. It is made of various design elements elegantly put together to create a cohesive output. A cut pertains to the overall look of a garment including an A-line, H-line, I-line, T-line, V-line, X-line, and Y-line. Silhouettes, on the other hand, involve darts, bias cuts, seams and such. For example, Trapeze line, Tent line, Bell line, Balloon line, Empire line, Charleston line, Princess line, Symmetrical and Asymmetrical sectioning. Decorations are accessories added on the garment such as stitching, embroidery, pleats, tucks, piping, binding, trimming, braid edging, appliques, incrustations, frills and flounces. Design elements can ignite physical and psychological effects. The right shape, color, pattern, texture, and line can make a person appear thinner, fuller, modern and younger. Patterns are powerful illusions, bringing emphasis to the body while space provides rest.
Color harmonies enhance the appearance of clothing such as monochromatic (singular color with various intensities), natural and a color (complements by toning down the other) and contrast complementary, the combination of opposing colors in the color wheel (effect are vibrant and active). Lines can complement the aura of the wearer as well. For instance, vertical lines (strong and formal appearance), horizontal lines (casual and relaxed), thick lines (aggressive), diagonal lines (mobility ), and curved lines (softness and gentleness). Other design elements include texture/fabrication - firm (formal) vs soft (casual), emphasis - concentrism (sequence of consecutively larger shapes), balance (evenly distributed weight of equilibrium), contrast (opposition of things to show the difference), asymmetrical (equal visual weight but not necessarily identical) and symmetrical (mirror image), and rhythm - gradation (change in consecutive step), repetition (an object used more than once), parallelism (equidistant at all point), radiation (steady outward motion, bursting from the center), sequence (following one thing after the other in a particular order), alternation (changing back and forth) and transition (even and continuous change in composition, without any break points).
Apart from the design, supply chains include materials, textile manufacturers, construction, shipping, retail, use and ultimately disposal. This side of fashion is often not highlighted and produces serious consequences on the environment especially with fast fashion. Fast fashion is leading the way to actual garment disposal because of its negative side effect of over-consumption. It is common for fast fashion consumers to wear an item once or twice before throwing it away. These cheap and low quality garments deteriorate easily with many ending up in landfills. Another culprit is globalization as it has enabled manufacturing to take place in other parts of the world for cheaper costs. After manufacturing, the apparel goes into shipping containers sent by rail, ships, and/or trucks. Container carriers are often fueled by the dirtiest of fossil fuels with one single ship capable of emitting cancer and asthma-causing pollutants.
Several retail brands and designer labels are finding ways to become sustainable and green by using organic raw materials, particularly cotton. Cotton is a good fabric, it's natural, soft and it can withstand high temperatures (iron away). However, cotton is a very needy plant when it comes to resources. The truth about cotton is the difficulty associated with harvesting it as it consumes a lot of water (about 5,000 gallons of water is used up just to manufacture a shirt and a pair of jeans). It is also prone to pests; therefore, cultivation includes the use of insecticides. While synthetic, man-made fibres seem like a good alternative to cotton (less water intensive), it often causes pollution due to chemical dyes which have deadly effects on aquatic life. Several dyes even contain PFCs (per-and poly-fluorinated chemicals) to make clothes stain-resistant and waterproof. PFCs are not capable of breaking down. Synthetic fabrics such as polyester and nylon are unsustainable by their very nature because they are non-biodegradable. Not to mention the production of synthetic fabrics which use up a large amount of energy. Nylon particularly emits a large amount of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas. Technological advances such as the waterless dye machine however may hold the answers to solving such issues in the garments manufacturing sector.
Change may begin when fashion designers and retailers find ways to sell sustainable clothing. Couture garments, although frivolous and excessive, promote longevity in clothing and thus support sustainability. Consumers can help by changing what they buy, where they shop and find ways to resist impulse buying because it promotes over-consumption. As for designers, we have a huge role in finding ways to incorporate sustainable materials in apparel design. Few examples of sustainable fabrics include bamboo fibre, banana fibre (abaca), cashmere, chitin fibre, coir (coconut fibre), ingeo (corn fibre), fish skin leather, hemp, jute, leather, linen (flax fibre), qmilch (milk fabric), pina (pineapple silk), PLA fabric (polylactic acid fibre), ramie, recycled polyester, soy fabric, silk and wool. Given the array of environment-friendly textile choices, there is no excuse for us not to continuously strive to become more sustainable. Apart from upcycling, recycling and being aware, practicing sustainability is about making a thorough selection, purchasing fewer items and then finding ways to make them last a lifetime.
Source: The Politics of the Artificial: Design for a Sustainable World (2002). The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London, pp. 92-120
