The sustainable approach - zero waste

As I continue my research deeper into sustainability, I realise the broadness of the industry and aspects that can be included under the 'sustainable' umbrella. So to help myself work out what area I want to explore I am going to separate each approach, into different posts (hopefully this will help me choose which one I want to focus on!) as it seems to me the options are endless.

First up,

Zero Waste

In traditional pattern cutting techniques between 15 and 20% of the fabric is discarded, which inevitably ends up in a landfill somewhere. According to Zero Waste New Zealand, "Zero Waste is a goal that is ethical, economical, efficient and visionary, to guide people in changing their lifestyles and practices to emulate sustainable natural cycles, where all discarded materials are designed to become resources for others to use.
Zero Waste means designing and managing products and processes to systematically avoid and eliminate the volume and toxicity of waste and materials, conserve and recover all resources, and not burn or bury them.". In fashion, Zero waste is applied as a pattern making technique, creating these sort of jigsaws that use every scrap of fabric from one square. It is about embracing the sustainable restrictions, having literally the equivalent of a box to work with, but thinking outside of it, discovering new ways with the limitations.

Zero waste has recently been highlighted in the sustainable world, but has infact been implemented for years, in traditional garment design, such as the Japanese kimono or the toga. The process is becoming more and more popular in the boutique fashion design houses, but is yet to be embraced by the bigger more influential fashion brands.

 

Issey Miyake - A-POC

A 1997 collection, which explored bringing the consumer back into the design process. It used just a single piece of cloth (for which A-POC is an acronym for), knitted on special looms to create a tube, with all the pattern pieces outlined on it. The wearer then has the choice what to cut out, how to wear it and how to essentially customise it to their own specifications, using their own hands. Although this process isnt labelled 'zero waste' as such, it does use similar principals.

132.5

132.5, is a another Issey Miyake creation. Miyake imbraces the process of origami and inspired by the idea of creating three dimensional structures, with curved surfaces by folding flat materials of computer scientist, Jun Mitani. The name 132.5, describes the collections meaning well, 1 meaning a single piece of cloth, 3 refers to the 3D aspect, 2 being the fact that the 3D piece has been folded into a 2D shape and 5 is the hope that the idea will spark other permutations. The concept and method translates into beautifully structured garments, shirts, skirts, pants and dresses all take on this trans-formality creating more of an art form than a practical outfit. This idea again maybe unconsciously implements the ideas of sustainable, zero waste fashion, using a single piece of recycled cloth and transforming it into literal origami designs, merging the fashion with art.

Mark Liu

Central St Martins graduate, Mark Liu is one of these people that has implemented zero waste into his designs. He has worked at top design houses such as Alexander McQueen, and has seen that side of the fashion industry, he feels there is a great need for sustainable practices and promotes the benefits of sustainable design. Liu manages to incorporate intricate design detailing with his zero waste philosophy. Liu is using the zero waste principal and re-working it to fit his own design aesthetic.  

David Telfer

David Telfer, who is now a menswear designer for COS has investigated several areas of alternative garment construction and patternmaking processes. 1 piece construction, where he uses only a square of fabric and transforms it into a tailored piece. Minimal seam construction, where he simplifies down the design to having only the essential seams needed to make it fit the body. He also investigates zero waste, where he incorporates the minimal seam philosophy with creating no waste. He follows his equation LESS SEAMS=LESS MANUFACTURE TIME=LESS COST=INCREASE WAGES, something so simple, but yet makes so much sense. I like the idea of minimal seams, something I hadnt really thought about when it came to zero waste, but is definitely and idea to think about.

TYVEK efficiency project (zero waste and minimal seams)

Yeohlee

Yeohlee Teng is a New York based Parsons Design school graduate. "She dresses the “urban nomad”, a term she coined for her Fall 1997 collection, defining a lifestyle that requires clothing that works on a variety of practical and psychological levels. She is a master of design management and believes in the efficiency of year-round, seasonless clothes". Her 2009 collection consisted of completely zero waste design, her garments have "a modular and functional versatility, a necessity in today’s environment, encapsulated into extremely aesthetic and flattering forms".

Timo Rissanen

Rissanen is an assistant professor for fashion and sustainability at Parsons in New York, and has spent a number of years working with zero waste design. "His PhD project is titled Fashion Creation Without Fabric Waste Creation and Rissanen presented a collection of menswear from the project in Bad Dogs, an exhibition in Sydney in 2008. Rissanen has presented at many international conferences and contributed a chapter to Sustainable Fashion. Why Now? (Fairchild Books, 2008). In 2009 he co-curated 'Fashioning Now' in Australia with Alison Gwilt; 'Shaping Sustainable Fashion', a book drawing from the project was published by Earthscan in January 2011. Yield, a survey exhibition of zero-waste fashion design curated by Rissanen and Holly McQuillan, was exhibited in New Zealand and New York." - Parsons. Rissanen teaches zero waste techniques to many up and coming fashion students and is ultimately spreading the word about sustainable design, his blog documents his continuing research.

Holly McQuillan 

Holly McQuillan is a leader in sustainable fashion in New Zealand. Her primary focus is zero waste, using illustrator to create beautifully intricate designs that use only one piece of fabric. The detail in the pattern stage is mind numbing, the outcome is a stunningly different garments, adhering to her personal aesthetic. Her zero waste journey is continuing to evolve as she 'raises the profile' of this technique to the fashion world.

examples of Holly McQuillan's flat zero waste patterns

Zero waste is something I would like to investigate more through my own design process. I feel it looks at sustainability in a somewhat more interesting way than just using organic cotton or just using recycled fabric. It requires a different level of thinking, it is merging the idea of sustainability with the design process, something which I feel has the tendency to look separate in other eco collections.