Linking young designers with materials and clothing that would other wise be thrown out
- Allows recycling clothing programs to further donate clothing to designers to make new garments out of the donated materials
- Website would have a feature page to celebrate the sustainable clothing create
The New School is a place known for its sustainability and its efforts in promoting a greener lifestyle. It encourages its students to recycle, think sustainably and has one of the greenest buildings in NYC to further prove its point. However, it is also famous for Parson, The New School of Design that is mainly known for its Fashion Design Major and its prestigious alumni. However, with Fashion being one of the most wasteful industries, I see Parsons students taking an effort in trying to waste less and design sustainable clothing. From zero waste fashion to deconstructing old garments I wanted to intervene in a ‘system that directly effected Parsons students. So, I decided to intervene in the Sustainable Fashion System within Parsons.
I want to propose the idea of bridging the gap between fashion/design students and recycled/sustainable materials. Allowing students to easily have access to recycled materials and clothing that has been donated. The New School has a huge emphasis on sustainability and I believe this type of program would be beneficial to students trying to use sustainable materials. Upon research and talking to Parsons students I found that they were intrigued by my idea and were willing to use old clothes and materials in their designs, something a lot of them have done before. The way this program would work is that students would apply through the Parsons resources site and briefly explain what they plan to use the materials for.
The process would involve partnering with clothing recycling companies, such as, Wearable Collections, whom I was able to get in contact with, in order to allow some of the recycled clothes to be donated to Parsons for student use rather than all is sent abroad. The representative from Wearable Collections was enthusiastic by my idea and mentioned that they’ve always wanted to bridge the gap between academia and what they do. They also mentioned that they get a lot of textiles donated as well as clothing which I believe would be very beneficial to students who can’t always afford places like Mood and are passionate about creating less waste and sustainable fashion. I believe this program would only further increase Parsons credibility and reputation as a sustainable institution and will teach students who don’t already know, more about sustainable fashion. I created a short video expressing the views and concerns about the emphasis on Fashion and Sustainability at The New School and an overview of how The New Cycle Program would work. I hope this program will encourage all students to ‘Think Sustainable, Think New Cycle’
Research Contact:
http://wearablecollections.com
Presentation:
