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Sustainable Systems Final Project Pitch
By: Sol Jihn
For my final project, I wanted to focus primarily on fashion My idea is to create a series of three posters that portray the past, present, and future of synthetic fibers, primarily polyester. The design behind the three posters would be in the order it takes to construct a garment (concept board, fabric swatch board, and pattern prototype). I also wanted to bring in the exponential popularity of synthetic fibers in the business of fast fashion, and the discontents it has to human ethics as well as to the environment. I was largely inspired by the fashion program Parsons offers, as well as fashion magazines that show inspiration boards such as Marie Clare, Vogue, Kinfolk, and Conde Nast. Materials I would need to execute this project would be clothing textile labels (lots of them), a foam board, and Adobe inDesign.
In the history poster, I researched how polyester was first created, how it hit the American fashion industry, and why it was a popular item within haute couture. I chose to leave out the consequences of using synthetic fibers to illustrate the ignorance consumers and designers had regarding fibers made of petroleum. I also listed how polyester became almost untrackable in the textile market and the advancement of how polyester could be manipulated to mimic natural fibers such as cotton, silk, and linen. I put small facts of information on top of the graphics of colored pictures posed as inspiration boards.
In the present poster, I listed the environmental determinants polyester left onto our society and explained the permanent nature of the textile. I wrote that it is not biodegradable, makes up 60% of the American fashion industry, and how microplastics are externalised in the washer. I listed the most significant problems that the history of polyester forced onto the present (microplastic pollution, landfill overflow, not biodegradable). I wanted the present to focus primarily on the negative aspects of polyester because of the need to be aware of the exponential growth of the fast fashion industry. I briefly spoke about the fashion industry, and how synthetic fibers fuel the quick production of clothing. I wrote these down on top of graphics that are supposed to symbolize fabric swatches.
On the last poster, I decided to create a poster that documents the last stage of pattern construction, creating a prototype. The last stage is supposed to illustrate the future, but I wanted to end the project on a positive note. This is due to the fact that designers are integrating advanced technology to experiment with sustainable options of unsustainable textiles. I wrote about the U.N’s message regarding the need to take direct action on our environment within the next 12 years before our Earth is damaged irreversibly. In this poster, I spoke of technological advancements and how many experiments have been successful, such as kelp textiles and kombucha leather. I also listed sustainable clothing brands and how to shop in regards to the environment (Rent the Runway, thrift shopping, upcycling old textiles). I wrote this information directly on top of the graphics of a dress shirt pattern.
I hope that this project covers the basic understanding of how polyester became such a powerful variable in environmental damage, ranging from the history of its creation, to the current role in the fashion industry, to how it interconnects with a greater issue.
