Dress to Art (2006)
Principal Investigator: Rebecca Earley
Funded by: Chelsea College of Art & Design funded project

Rebecca Earley developed this collaborative research project as part of the ‘Well Fashioned’ exhibit at the Crafts Council, London. This project brought together three experts from different specialisms to explore theoretical ideas about eco fashion in a practical way.

The team consisted of Dr Kate Fletcher, an eco designer working in textiles and fashion; Helen Amy Murray, a designer known for her innovatively stitched and sculpted interior textiles; and Rebecca Earley.
‘A wedding dress is the high profile centrepiece of marriage, the catwalk show and design collections; but in many ways its beauty is tainted by accusations of over-consumption, poor use of resources and wastefulness’.

This small project attempted to address some of these issues by designing four eco wedding dress scenarios.

The four scenarios were:

1) Something Old: Vintage Beauty – this was a dress made up of new fabric which had been constructed from old wedding dresses, veils and beautiful antique laces. The old fabrics are supplied by a relative/friend of the bride and are skilfully layered and embroidered into a new fabric.

2) Something New: For One Day Only – this was a resource efficient lightweight gown made from nonwoven fabric and produced with low impact methods. There is minimal waste, as the offcuts are used as decoration or confetti and there is potential to recycle the garment after the day of use.

3) Something Borrowed: Dress to Art – this dress was designed with re- use in mind, and it therefore requires careful pre-planning and skilled pattern cutting. Once worn, the bodice becomes a piece of art and is framed, while the skirt is refashioned into something fashionable.

4) Something Green: Good Gift Gown – this dress is a traditional-looking gown made with responsible fibres such as wild silk, hemp and Ingeo (a biodegradable synthetic fibre made from corn starch). The gown is produced by skilled craftspeople in the developing world, thereby supporting a local community.

The ‘Dress to Art’ scenario was produced to prototype stage and exhibited as part of the Well Fashioned exhibition.

www.craftscouncil.org.uk/wellfashoined/noflash/dress.html