tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/melbourne-fashion-festival-9379/articles
Melbourne Fashion Festival – The Conversation
2021-11-22T19:07:39Z
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/172295
2021-11-22T19:07:39Z
2021-11-22T19:07:39Z
Like most of the fashion industry, there’s a blind spot in Country Road’s ethical focus
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433028/original/file-20211122-15-1g23e8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C292%2C1200%2C605&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">United Workers Union</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Amid the catwalk shows and millinery workshops, a key theme of this year’s <a href="https://mfw.melbourne.vic.gov.au/">Melbourne Fashion Week</a> was sustainablity, “offering designers with strong ethical foundations an opportunity to join our runways, or opening up dialogue on sustainability into our talks program”.</p>
<p>Events during the week included industry representatives discussing “<a href="https://mfw.melbourne.vic.gov.au/event/shifting-fashions-status-quo/">shifting the status quo</a>” and moving “<a href="https://mfw.melbourne.vic.gov.au/event/beyond-greenwashing/">beyond greenwashing</a>”. </p>
<p>On the panel at the latter event was Eloise Bishop, head of sustainability at Country Road Group, one of Australia’s largest specialty fashion retailers. Meanwhile workers from the company were on strike, chaining themselves together and staging other protests outside Country Road stores in pursuit of better wages and working conditions. </p>
<p>Among the complaints of these workers, mostly women from the company’s distribution warehouse in Melbourne’s west, was being paid an average of <a href="https://www.news.com.au/finance/country-road-under-fire-for-fashion-ethics-talk-while-workers-strike-for-1-an-hour-pay-rise/news-story/96ffb3bc8b659a22ed748c89edcd2e12">A$23 an hour</a>, compared to about A$30 for workers doing similar work at the Pacific Brands warehouse across the road. </p>
<p>On Monday the workers returned to work after reaching an agreement with the company that includes improved job security, union recognition and a 13.3% pay rise over four years. That’s about an extra $3 an hour.</p>
<p>While this has brought the strike to a celebratory end, questions remain. How could a company so highly regarded for its commitment to sustainability have provoked staff to strike for almost a fortnight?</p>
<h2>Lower marks for worker empowerment</h2>
<p>Country Road Group is a subsidiary of South Africa’s <a href="https://www.woolworthsholdings.co.za/">Woolworths Holdings Ltd</a> (which also owns David Jones). The company’s clothing brands include Country Road, Witchery, Trenery, Politix and Mimco. Despite the pandemic, in the past fiscal year Country Road Group’s sales grew by 13.5% to <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/david-jones-returns-to-profit-growth-as-recent-lockdowns-savage-sales-20210826-p58ma3.html">A$1.05 billion</a>. </p>
<p>The company is considered by many an industry leader on ethics and sustainability. The <a href="https://baptistworldaid.org.au/resources/ethical-fashion-guide/">2021 Ethical Fashion Guide</a> compiled by Baptist World Aid, for example, awarded it an overall “A” grade. It did well on four of five rating criteria, scoring an “A+” on its policies and governance, “A+” for trading and risk, “A” for supplier relationships and human rights monitoring, and another “A” for environmental sustainability.</p>
<p>On worker empowerment, however, it scored just a “C”. </p>
<p>These results suggest the company has a blind spot in addressing concerns about labour conditions in its supply chain.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Country Road Group scores better on environmental sustainability than worker empowerment." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433066/original/file-20211122-21-licwaw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433066/original/file-20211122-21-licwaw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433066/original/file-20211122-21-licwaw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433066/original/file-20211122-21-licwaw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433066/original/file-20211122-21-licwaw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433066/original/file-20211122-21-licwaw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433066/original/file-20211122-21-licwaw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Country Road Group scores better on environmental sustainability than on worker empowerment.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Country_Road_store_in_the_Canberra_Centre_August_2020.jpg">Nick-D/Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Supply-chain blind spots</h2>
<p>In part because of the disparities between how the fashion industry markets its products and the way workers are treated, the global fashion industry is a notorious example of exploitation engendered by opaque supply chains. </p>
<p>Questions about ethics become divided across asymmetrical lines: the global North as fashion consumer and the global South as fashion producer. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-fashion-industry-keeps-failing-to-fix-labour-exploitation-87356">Why the fashion industry keeps failing to fix labour exploitation</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Country Road Group's Modern Slavery Statement" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433041/original/file-20211122-19-3nwlnm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433041/original/file-20211122-19-3nwlnm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=849&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433041/original/file-20211122-19-3nwlnm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=849&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433041/original/file-20211122-19-3nwlnm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=849&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433041/original/file-20211122-19-3nwlnm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433041/original/file-20211122-19-3nwlnm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433041/original/file-20211122-19-3nwlnm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://modernslaveryregister.gov.au/">Modern Slavery Statements Register</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Attempts to bring greater <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10304312.2021.1993575&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1637567187083000&usg=AOvVaw1hBszzmdvvqcUtTuXS2gJF">transparency</a> and accountability to these supply chains include Australia’s Modern Slavery Act. This requires large companies to submit an annual statement to a public registry outlining efforts to identify and eliminate the risk of exploitative labour practices. </p>
<p>Country Road Group’s <a href="https://modernslaveryregister.gov.au/statements/2175/">2020 Modern Slavery statement</a> states the company is “committed to upholding the highest social, ethical and environmental standards in its supply chains”. </p>
<p>But commitment to ethics is arguably easier when the “problem” of labour rights is far away and things like modern slavery statements (which rely on third party auditing) can help to conceal unethical practices. What happens when the issue is on our doorstep? </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/at-last-australia-has-a-modern-slavery-act-heres-what-youll-need-to-know-107885">At last, Australia has a Modern Slavery Act. Here's what you'll need to know</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<h2>Fair pay for all</h2>
<p>We often think about the concept of a “<a href="https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/oso/9780198830351.001.0001/oso-9780198830351">living wage</a>” in relation to garment workers overseas. But these warehouse workers told their union representatives they could not afford to live on the wages paid by Country Road Group, much less clothe themselves or their children in the very garments they pick and pack at the warehouse. </p>
<p>According to industry body the <a href="https://ausfashioncouncil.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/From-high-fashion-to-high-vis-EY-final-report-31-May-2021.pdf">Australian Fashion Council</a>, 77% of the 489,000 workers employed in Australia’s fashion and textile industry’s workforce are female. This makes fair pay and conditions in the industry an important driver of women’s economic advancement. Industrial action is about more than money; it is about respect and recognition. </p>
<p>Responsibility for change in the fashion industry is frequently <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08164649.2019.1567255">feminised</a>. Women are not only the primary workforce; they are at the front lines of sustainable action, consumer activism and labour rights movements. It was a proposed strike by members of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union in New York in 1909 that led to the establishment of <a href="https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/politics/a35696959/garment-workers-international-womens-day/">International Women’s Day</a>.</p>
<p>The move towards sustainability and ethical production in the fashion industry is necessary. But if action does not extend to the realities of <em>all</em> workers across the supply chain, the rhetoric is empty.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Note: co-author Lauren Kate Kelly is a researcher with the United Workers’ Union, which covers Country Road warehouse employees.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/172295/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Harriette Richards receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lauren Kelly receives funding from the Australian Research Council and works as a researcher with United Workers Union, which represents warehouse workers. </span></em></p>
How could a company highly regarded for its commitment to sustainability do so badly on the industrial relations front, pushing staff to strike for almost a fortnight?
Harriette Richards, Research Associate, Cultural Studies, The University of Melbourne
Lauren Kate Kelly, PhD Candidate, RMIT University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/24413
2014-03-26T03:51:46Z
2014-03-26T03:51:46Z
Imagining Chanel, or naked women on a catwalk?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44359/original/dy52g7dr-1395289545.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">How is this not a case of The Emperor's New Clothes?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Image courtesy Adele Varcoe</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Fashion can be a multitude of things, from a business to an art to an attitude. But one thing is constant: the experience of the body in space and time. But what about a body dressed only by our imagination?</p>
<p>This evening at Monash University’s Museum of Art (<a href="http://www.monash.edu.au/muma/">MUMA</a>), Melbourne artist and fashion designer <a href="http://www.adelevarcoe.com/#!about/c10fk">Adele Varcoe</a> will reconstruct a 1920s fashion salon in [Imagining Chanel](http://monash.edu/muma/events/2014/chanel.html](http://monash.edu/muma/events/2014/chanel.htm) and instruct models to strut the catwalk nude while descriptions of Chanel garments from the Victoria & Albert museum archive are read aloud.</p>
<p>This isn’t the first time that art and fashion have come together, though Varcoe’s mixture is more interesting than most.</p>
<p>This performance was currently staged in both <a href="http://www.imaginingchanel.com/Sydney.html">Sydney</a> and <a href="http://www.imaginingchanel.com/London.html">London</a> in 2012.</p>
<p>It tackles fashion’s relationship with the imagination and scrutinises how we experience fashion through varied written and verbal descriptions disseminated in popular culture, magazines, television and other media.</p>
<p>Varcoe is particularly interested in how these descriptions often rely on our imagination to conjure an appreciation of how garments might look or feel, having <a href="http://blog.ngv.vic.gov.au/author/paola-ditrocchiongv-vic-gov-au/">previously said</a> that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Designers make clothes, people and perception make fashion. </p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44648/original/knpq3dph-1395717402.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44648/original/knpq3dph-1395717402.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=357&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44648/original/knpq3dph-1395717402.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=357&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44648/original/knpq3dph-1395717402.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=357&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44648/original/knpq3dph-1395717402.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44648/original/knpq3dph-1395717402.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44648/original/knpq3dph-1395717402.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">German designer Karl Lagerfeld and British model Cara Delevingne take to the catwalk at the end of the Fall/Winter 2014/15 Ready to Wear Collection by Chanel in Paris, France, March 2014.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Christophe Karaba</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Varcoe draws directly from Japanese sociologist <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Yuniya-Kawamura/e/B001K8BYBK">Yuniya Kawamura</a>, who writes in her 2005 book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fashion-ology-Introduction-Fashion-Studies-Culture/dp/1859738141/ref=la_B001K8BYBK_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1395372498&sr=1-2">Fashion-ology</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Fashion does provide extra added values to clothing, but the additional elements exist only in people’s imaginations and beliefs. Fashion is not visual clothing but is the invisible elements included in clothing.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In Imagining Chanel, Varcoe invites viewers into a subjective, imaginary world to project their fantasies and preferences on to the models as they wander past naked; the idea being that the absence of actual physical garments in the performance brings to the fore competing ideas about what fashion is.</p>
<p>Fashion is conventionally understood to involve both the process of design and the end result – the designed object. This process includes the history of costume and art, accompanied by an awareness of, and astuteness for, predicting market trends.</p>
<p>For those reasons fashion is often described, to <a href="http://www.amazon.com/After-Fashion-Interpretations-Carlton-Vic/dp/052284619X">paraphrase</a> Melbourne sociologist Joanne Finkelstein, as a cultural store of values, attitudes and customs that give rise to diverse cultural discourse.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44448/original/9nmgcjty-1395377015.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44448/original/9nmgcjty-1395377015.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44448/original/9nmgcjty-1395377015.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44448/original/9nmgcjty-1395377015.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44448/original/9nmgcjty-1395377015.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44448/original/9nmgcjty-1395377015.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44448/original/9nmgcjty-1395377015.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44448/original/9nmgcjty-1395377015.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ray Sawhill</span></span>
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<p>In other words, fashioned objects are typically read as manifestations of <a href="https://theconversation.com/fashioning-blue-collars-chambray-shirts-and-indigo-dyed-workwear-24603">important social changes</a> - in gender relations and sexuality, class, ethnicity, religion, sub-cultural involvement and economic movements in a society. </p>
<p>Finkelstein <a href="http://www.amazon.com/After-Fashion-Interpretations-Carlton-Vic/dp/052284619X">provides</a> the classic example of denim jeans and the way theorists influenced by semiotics regard denim as a sign of sexual liberation and personal freedom.</p>
<p>Yet this sense that fashion represents deeper cultural and political trends makes it even harder to pin down what fashion is.</p>
<p>Imagining Chanel presents fashion within the context of performance art, suggesting that all fashion is a performance; but to my mind the show is something more than this.</p>
<p>This isn’t a passive audience projecting its fantasies onto female bodies presented for their gratification.</p>
<p>The audience is key to creating the performance, and without its active engagement we’d have nothing more than a vapid case of The Emperor’s New Clothes.</p>
<p>The co-creation makes explicit the role we all take in the real and imagined creation of fashion.</p>
<p><br></p>
<p><em><a href="http://monash.edu/muma/events/2014/chanel.html">Imagining Chanel</a> takes place at the Monash University of Art on Wednesday March 26.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/24413/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrea Eckersley does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Fashion can be a multitude of things, from a business to an art to an attitude. But one thing is constant: the experience of the body in space and time. But what about a body dressed only by our imagination…
Andrea Eckersley, Lecturer in Fashion & Textiles, RMIT University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/24262
2014-03-19T00:20:06Z
2014-03-19T00:20:06Z
Peeking under the clothes at the Melbourne Fashion Festival
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44227/original/7p58bypr-1395183362.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Models wear designs from the David Jones label at the 2014 Melbourne Fashion Festival.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Joe Castro/AAP Image</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you wear clothes – and most of us do – there will be an event, exhibition or activity at this week’s Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival (<a href="http://www.vamff.com.au/">VAMFF</a>) – which started on Monday – that will intrigue and inspire you. Even those who take an anti-fashion stance might find themselves enthused by the diverse offering under the broad heading of “fashion” in the extensive <a href="http://www.vamff.com.au/events/culturalprogram/">cultural program</a> which fuses fashion with the arts, film, dance and food.</p>
<p>So how did it get to where it is now, since its beginnings 18 years ago? </p>
<p>In 1996 I was fortunate to be invited to join a group of individuals to discuss the status of the Australian fashion industry, which at the time was struggling within a recessed economy. In this environment a culture of culpability had arisen - designers blamed buyers for not buying their collections, buyers blamed manufacturers for their poor quality or high prices, retailers blamed consumers for not being interested. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44229/original/kncpysj2-1395183812.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44229/original/kncpysj2-1395183812.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44229/original/kncpysj2-1395183812.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=909&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44229/original/kncpysj2-1395183812.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=909&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44229/original/kncpysj2-1395183812.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=909&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44229/original/kncpysj2-1395183812.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1142&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44229/original/kncpysj2-1395183812.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1142&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44229/original/kncpysj2-1395183812.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1142&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The 2014 Melbourne Fashion Festival Opening Event.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Joe Castro/AAP Image</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>An idea sprang forth to develop a festival that acknowledged the greatness inherent in the local fashion industry – to celebrate the goodness and create positive role models. The ethos of the Festival from day one was to excite the person on the street and provide the inspiration to engage and this spirit has been a driving force in establishing the Melbourne Fashion Festival as a successful event model. </p>
<p>The festival is funded both by the state government and a <a href="http://www.vamff.com.au/about/partners/">range of partners</a> from the private sector. Each year the fashion spotlight shines on Melbourne and we continue to see upward trends related to economic impact, promotional exposure, cultural positioning and associated retail expenditure, as evidenced by the City of Melbourne’s 2012 <a href="https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/enterprisemelbourne/industries/retail/Strategy/Documents/YearSix/RetailStrategyYear6_ch3.pdf">retail strategy report card</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>more than 380,000 fashion devotees attended the Festival’s 126 officially programmed events and aligned activities … and the Festival’s Cultural Program delivered over 79 fashion themed events. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Whereas other major fashion weeks concentrate activities on a distinctive tier of the industry’s most notably premium design brands, the Melbourne event seeks to celebrate and showcase the depth and breadth of all things “fashion”.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44228/original/pxjmxm6h-1395183592.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44228/original/pxjmxm6h-1395183592.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44228/original/pxjmxm6h-1395183592.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=932&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44228/original/pxjmxm6h-1395183592.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=932&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44228/original/pxjmxm6h-1395183592.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=932&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44228/original/pxjmxm6h-1395183592.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1171&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44228/original/pxjmxm6h-1395183592.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1171&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44228/original/pxjmxm6h-1395183592.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1171&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A model wears designs from Rachel Gilbert at the 2014 Melbourne Fashion Festival.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Joe Castro/AAP Image</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At the “big four” events – Paris, Milan, London and New York fashion weeks – designer brands are showcased to a select audience of between 100 to 300 attendees, who predominatly are retail buyers and fashion media, with a sprinkling of celebrities carefully placed in the front row to generate media interest. </p>
<p>By contrast, the Melbourne Fashion Festival is about the democratisation of fashion, providing a platform for all tiers of the industry, from micro operators such as those early career designers whose collections were highlighted on Tuesday at the <a href="http://www.vamff.com.au/events/tiffany-and-co-national-designer-award/">Tiffany & Co. National Designer Award</a>, through to the large chain stores such as David Jones who showcased their in-store collections as part of the <a href="http://www.vamff.com.au/events/runway-events/opening-event/">Opening Event</a> on Monday night. </p>
<p>The Fashion Festival seeks to support emerging designers - the National Designer Award has helped launch the careers of designers such as <a href="http://www.tonimaticevski.com/">Toni Maticevski</a>, <a href="http://www.dionlee.com/">Dion Lee</a>, <a href="http://www.joshgoot.com/">Josh Goot</a> and <a href="https://romancewasborn.com/">Romance Was Born</a>. </p>
<p>There’s also the <a href="http://www.vamff.com.au/events/runway-events/national-graduate-showcase/">National Graduate Showcase</a> which champions fashion design graduates. As well as giving them the opportunity to share the runways with leading designers it also offers mentoring opportunities.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44224/original/63xw2479-1395182195.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44224/original/63xw2479-1395182195.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44224/original/63xw2479-1395182195.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44224/original/63xw2479-1395182195.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44224/original/63xw2479-1395182195.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44224/original/63xw2479-1395182195.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44224/original/63xw2479-1395182195.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44224/original/63xw2479-1395182195.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mario-Luca Carlucci and Peter Strateas won the 2014 Tiffany & Co. National Designer Award.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP Image/AMPR</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Festival’s greatest strength lies in the consumer to business relationships it has enhanced. The energy and visual experience is not confined to the media spectacle of fashion personalities and celebrities. Instead the public is provided with access to runway shows which lets them engage with fashion brands on a different level. Many Festival events such as those in the cultural program are free; while others such as the runway shows can be accessed through ticket sales.</p>
<p>Like other fashion events, the Festival showcases designer collections – but its catwalks are enormous lengthened runways with audience capacities sometimes in the thousands, worlds apart from the discreet showcases in the top four fashion capitals.</p>
<p>Through a <a href="http://www.vamff.com.au/shoptherunway/opening-event/">digital interface</a> developed in the past two years, the audience can also “see now, buy now”, an innovative concept that directly links Australian designers with the consumer.</p>
<p>Behind the scenes and beyond the month of March, the Festival works collaboratively with the Victorian State Government on trade missions, export strategies and global connections in promoting the local fashion industry to the world, subsequently promoting continuing growth of this sector.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44226/original/bw9zvgvh-1395183279.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44226/original/bw9zvgvh-1395183279.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44226/original/bw9zvgvh-1395183279.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44226/original/bw9zvgvh-1395183279.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44226/original/bw9zvgvh-1395183279.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44226/original/bw9zvgvh-1395183279.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44226/original/bw9zvgvh-1395183279.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44226/original/bw9zvgvh-1395183279.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The 2014 Melbourne Fashion Festival.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP Image/Joe Castro</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Like many fashion sectors around the globe, the local industry has drastically repositioned itself over the past three decades - moving from geographically-connected clusters within centralised inner city manufacturing bases to disconnected, wide-spread companies housed in anonymous spaces across the country. </p>
<p>Due to these shifts, which have seen the demise in local manufacturing, businesses now work in a framework of a global supply chain connected through digital interfaces. </p>
<p>This is a phenomenon that has impacted the fashion industry worldwide. Recognising this major shift the Fashion Festival has developed forums and seminars such as such as the <a href="http://www.vamff.com.au/events/business-events-series/business-seminar/">Business Seminar</a>, <a href="http://www.vamff.com.au/events/business-events-series/fashion-industry-forums/">Fashion Industry Forums</a> and <a href="http://www.vamff.com.au/events/business-events-series/marketing-breakfast/">Marketing Breakfast</a> designed to bring the dispersed industry together. These forums provide industry intelligence, enable networking and support business growth. </p>
<p>This event is a great opportunity to celebrate Australian fashion creativity and acknowledge the broad impact it has. I have already started a wish list of must-have fashion items that I’ll be adding to my wardrobe!</p>
<p><br>
<em>The Melbourne Fashion Festival is on now. Details <a href="http://www.vamff.com.au/">here</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>Are you an academic or researcher working in fashion or textiles? Contact the <a href="mailto:paul.dalgarno@theconversation.edu.au">Arts + Culture editor</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/24262/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karen Webster has previously been associated with the Melbourne Fashion Festival:
1996 - 2009: on the Board of Directors
2005 - 2010: Festival Director
</span></em></p>
If you wear clothes – and most of us do – there will be an event, exhibition or activity at this week’s Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival (VAMFF) – which started on Monday – that will intrigue…
Karen Webster, Associate Professor - Deputy Head of Fashion and Textiles, RMIT University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/24109
2014-03-12T03:44:54Z
2014-03-12T03:44:54Z
Fashioning science: the next revolution in wearables
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/43638/original/mj9sdps3-1394580255.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">We can now grow clothing using bacteria.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">© Biocouture Ltd. 2014, BioRuff, Photography by Santiago Arribas</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Fashion has been slow to engage with wearable technologies, but this is all changing very quickly, now extending beyond digital technologies to cutting-edge fashion and science collaborations.</p>
<p>This Thursday, as part of the 2014 Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival’s <a href="http://www.vamff.com.au/events/culturalprogram/">Cultural Program</a>, the Wheeler Centre will host <a href="http://wheelercentre.com/events/event/playwear-fashion-interactivity-and-technology/">a discussion</a> about the influence of gaming on wearable technologies, and what our fashion futures might look like. </p>
<p>To extend the discussion, this article provides a snapshot of projects that bring together science, engineering, design and fashion in fundamental ways, to radically re-imagine what wearables of the future might be. These projects look to biological and materials sciences for new ways of re-thinking fashion.</p>
<h2>Origin of wearables</h2>
<p>When people think of wearable technologies, they might think of engineering innovations such as <a href="http://www.google.com/glass/start/">Google Glass</a> or head-mounted displays used in gaming. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/43562/original/958fqm3g-1394512416.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/43562/original/958fqm3g-1394512416.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/43562/original/958fqm3g-1394512416.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43562/original/958fqm3g-1394512416.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43562/original/958fqm3g-1394512416.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43562/original/958fqm3g-1394512416.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43562/original/958fqm3g-1394512416.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43562/original/958fqm3g-1394512416.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Google Glass.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">caseorganic</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Such concepts are not new. Embedding a camera into eyeglasses was <a href="http://www.eyetap.org/">first proposed</a> by inventor <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Mann">Steve Mann</a> in the 1980s. What is new is that the engineering has caught up with the concept, and the product has finally been commercialised. The problem, from a fashion perspective, is that engineering-driven wearables such as these typically fail to engage with the full aesthetic potential of culture and clothing.</p>
<p>For technically sophisticated wearables to have a coherent and exciting future, the disciplines involved in creating them must come together. The challenges being confronted by designers and researchers presented here include how to facilitate fruitful collisions between fashion designers, engineers and scientists: experts who typically come from very different perspectives. </p>
<p>Their examples provide promising pathways to follow.</p>
<h2>Wearable solar technologies</h2>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/43641/original/qjz62fp3-1394581143.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/43641/original/qjz62fp3-1394581143.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/43641/original/qjz62fp3-1394581143.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43641/original/qjz62fp3-1394581143.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43641/original/qjz62fp3-1394581143.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43641/original/qjz62fp3-1394581143.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43641/original/qjz62fp3-1394581143.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43641/original/qjz62fp3-1394581143.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Wearable solar dress.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pauline van Dongen</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/43640/original/tdp9wnbw-1394581034.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/43640/original/tdp9wnbw-1394581034.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/43640/original/tdp9wnbw-1394581034.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43640/original/tdp9wnbw-1394581034.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43640/original/tdp9wnbw-1394581034.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43640/original/tdp9wnbw-1394581034.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43640/original/tdp9wnbw-1394581034.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43640/original/tdp9wnbw-1394581034.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Wearable solar coat.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://paulinevandongen.nl/projects/wearable-solar">Pauline van Dongen</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="http://paulinevandongen.nl/">Pauline van Dongen</a> is a Dutch fashion designer known for her work with wearable technologies. Her <a href="https://vimeo.com/68522251">Wearable Solar project</a>, a collaboration with Christiaan Holland from the <a href="http://www.han.nl/international/english/">HAN University of Applied Sciences</a> and solar energy expert Gert Jan Jongerden, explores how to place solar cells close to the body so that the body can harness the sun’s energy and become a mobile source of electrical power. </p>
<p>The first garments created for the project include a wool and leather coat that incorporates 48 rigid solar cells and a wool and leather dress that incorporates 72 flexible solar cells. In both garments, the solar cells can be revealed when the sun shines or folded away and worn invisibly when not directly needed. </p>
<p>When worn in full sun for an hour, they can store enough energy to allow a typical smartphone to be 50% charged. The garments are functional, as well as fashionable, and demonstrate what can happen when a technology-literate fashion designer is involved from the outset in a project to develop new forms of wearables. </p>
<p>In Wearable Solar, van Dongen is paired with scientists and technologists specialised in the development of flexible solar panels, business developers, venture capitalists and entrepreneurs, whose aim is to facilitate the commercialisation of the eventual product. While the outcomes of the project have not yet been brought to market, all of the elements are in place to ensure timely realisation of a sophisticated, aesthetically resolved wearable solar garment.</p>
<h2>Ethical and ethereal</h2>
<p>The advantages of such an approach can also be seen in the work of artist and fashion designer Helen Storey and scientist Tony Ryan. Their first collaboration, <a href="http://showstudio.com/project/wonderland">The Wonderland Project</a>, used fashion as a “Trojan horse” to progress, a radical, two-year exploration into biodegradable materials. The project was led by the slogan “Plastic is Precious”, and resulted in two very different outcomes: “Disappearing Dresses” and “Bottles that Become Flowers”.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/43642/original/vrsh6phh-1394581208.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/43642/original/vrsh6phh-1394581208.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/43642/original/vrsh6phh-1394581208.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=908&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43642/original/vrsh6phh-1394581208.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=908&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43642/original/vrsh6phh-1394581208.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=908&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43642/original/vrsh6phh-1394581208.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1141&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43642/original/vrsh6phh-1394581208.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1141&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43642/original/vrsh6phh-1394581208.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1141&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Wonderland Project: Kingfisher Megastar.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">© Helen Storey and Tony Ryan, photo: Nik Daughtry</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The “Disappearing Dresses” were made from dissolving textiles designed by Trish Belford at <a href="http://www.interface.ulster.ac.uk/">the Interface research centre, at the University of Ulster</a>. When exhibited, the dresses are hung from scaffolds, and gradually lowered into giant goldfish bowls of water, where they dissolve, creating vibrant underwater fireworks. The aim of the dresses is to capture the public’s imagination and invite them to question the environmental sustainability of the current fashion industry and what happens to used clothing. </p>
<p>In a slightly different approach to the notion that “Plastic is Precious”, “Bottles that Become Flowers” explores intelligent packaging. Once finished with, these water bottles dissolve under hot water to form a gel in which seeds can be grown. The concept aims to highlight issues surrounding waste plastic. As Storey and Ryan point out, such an approach could revolutionise the packaging industry. </p>
<p>When they began working together, Storey had not imagined designing a series of dresses, but she and Ryan soon realised that a spectacular fashion outcome would generate more interest in their deeper, ethical drivers. The Wonderland Project has led to further research, exploring the use of nanotechnologies in <a href="http://www.catalytic-clothing.org/faq.html">Catalytic Clothing</a> to create clothing that can purify the air that we breathe, and <a href="http://www.dressofglassandflame.org/">The Dress of Glass and Flame</a>, a collaboration with the UK <a href="http://www.rsc.org/">Royal Society of Chemistry</a> and renowned Venetian glass studio, <a href="http://www.berengo.com/">Berengo Studio</a>. </p>
<h2>Bacteria and funghi</h2>
<p>[Suzanne Lee](http://fellows.ted.com/profiles/suzanne-lee](http://fellows.ted.com/profiles/suzanne-lee), TED Senior Fellow, Senior Research Fellow at Central Saint Martins in London, and principal at the living materials design consultancy, <a href="http://biocouture.co.uk">Biocouture Ltd</a>, is growing clothing using bacteria. As she explains in the video, below, she works closely with scientists, Alexander Bismarck and Paul Fremont from Imperial College London, to refine her techniques and make the clothing more wearable. Lee and her team also explore other nature inspired products, working with different industries to explore the development of living materials, and growing custom prototypes. </p>
<p>In the spirit of open source innovation, on her <a href="http://biocouture.co.uk">Biocouture</a> website Suzanne discusses her evolving research, and provides recipes for how to <a href="http://biocouture.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Biocouture-Grow-your-own-material-recipe-creative-common-license.pdf">grow your own Biocouture material</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WVW-jSdhILs?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Biocouture.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/43486/original/2ycznc6d-1394459769.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/43486/original/2ycznc6d-1394459769.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/43486/original/2ycznc6d-1394459769.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43486/original/2ycznc6d-1394459769.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43486/original/2ycznc6d-1394459769.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43486/original/2ycznc6d-1394459769.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1133&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43486/original/2ycznc6d-1394459769.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1133&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43486/original/2ycznc6d-1394459769.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1133&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fibre Reactive, 2004, Donna Franklin, LWAG.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.symbiotica.uwa.edu.au">Robert Firth, image courtesy of SymbioticA</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>Examples of science and fashion collaborations remain the exception, though we see increasing interest in the area, including here in Australia. In 2003, Edith Cowan University masters student, Donna Franklin, undertook a residency at <a href="http://www.symbiotica.uwa.edu">SymbioticA</a>, investigating the growth and staining of fabrics using funghi. </p>
<p>She developed <a href="http://www.symbiotica.uwa.edu.au/residents/franklin">Fibre Reactive</a>, a white dress that was “colonised” by a living fungal growth, in rich reds, oranges and greens. Donna has also collaborated with scientist Gary Cass, making <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-F2RD1KZT4">clothing out of Guinness and wine</a>. </p>
<p>There are still many challenges to be overcome before this new generation of wearables is available to the public. </p>
<p>Integrating digital technologies into our clothing is perhaps the most accessible place to start, but looking to the life sciences and materials science is, arguably, the most inspiring path to radical innovation.</p>
<p><br></p>
<p><em><a href="http://wheelercentre.com/events/event/playwear-fashion-interactivity-and-technology/">Playwear: Fashion, Interactivity and Technology</a> takes place at the Wheeler Centre on March 13.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/24109/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Danielle Wilde does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Fashion has been slow to engage with wearable technologies, but this is all changing very quickly, now extending beyond digital technologies to cutting-edge fashion and science collaborations. This Thursday…
Danielle Wilde, Visiting research Fellow, Centre for Smart Materials and Performance Textiles, RMIT University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.