One of the many beautiful things about bespoke tailoring is that there is naturally very little waste produced. Once the customer’s pattern has been drafted, a lay can be measured precisely and the exact amount of cloth needed can be ordered. This is a very economical way of working that, unfortunately, does not translate easily to ready-to-wear production.
Zero-waste is a real buzz phrase in a lot of industries, and particularly in relation to clothing manufacture. Zero-waste clothing, however, is not a new concept.
Back in the 18th century, materials for clothing were expensive and not readily available; people had little choice other than to make clothing that created minimal waste in its production. In their exhibition of menswear throughout history, the V&A describes a shirt pattern as “a series of squares (for gussets) and rectangles (sleeves, collar, cuffs, etc) which ensured that no scraps were left over after the pieces had been cut from a length of linen.” Clothes often would be pleated and gathered to create forms that fitted the body without the need to cut away any fabric... “In this example, fine pleats have been ironed into the sleeves, to accommodate the tightly fitting sleeves of the coat worn over the shirt.” There is an elegance in the simplicity of this problem solving. There is no unnecessary design. I hope to emulate similar ideas within my collection.
Another example of a zero-waste garment is the kimono. When talking about historical and traditional dress in their book, Zero Waste Fashion Design, Timo Rissanen & Holly McQuillan state that “to make a Japanese kimono, a narrow cloth (35-40 centimetres) is woven to the required length, often 11 to 12 metres long.” The cloth is then separated into the 8 rectangular pattern pieces and no fabric waste is created. Also, ingeniously “surplus fabric in the front neck is pleated inside the collar for structure rather than cut.” The garment can be adjusted to suit the wearer; excess length can be drawn up and secured under the obi (sash), the collar can also be pulled back to reveal the nape for a more sensual appearance. I am inspired by the idea that an item of clothing can be worn by people of different sizes and genders and can be styled in ways that create diverse looks.
My plan for this project is to create modern pieces that are seasonless, versatile and can be easily integrated into everyone’s wardrobe. This concept came about during one of the early lockdowns when, due to not being able to see my customers for fittings, my bespoke work had come to a standstill. After completing the Innovative Pattern Cutting for Professionals course at Central Saint Martins, I had been meaning to set aside some time to start working on a sustainable collection, that was back in 2016 and it’s clearly been hard to find the time! I’m excited to bring my skills and sensibilities to something new, I’ve never created ready-to-wear garments before. I will produce these pieces the same way that I do my bespoke work, every step will be analysed with a close attention to detail, with sustainability and quality craftsmanship at its heart. To do so, I set myself serval objectives:
The pieces must produce as little waste fabric as possible. I plan to use all natural or sustainable fibres, any scraps produced will be kept until I can find a use for them; nothing will go in the bin!
The pieces must be beautiful. They should be easy to wear, have minimal fastenings, and not be fussy.
The pieces must also be easy to look after. I will be pre-washing the fabrics to ensure that the finished garments can either be hand-washed or machine-washed, there will be no need for dry-cleaning.
The pieces will all be made in London. It is integral to the project to keep the footprint as small as possible. The garments will be produced on a made-to-order basis, rejecting mass-made and ‘fast’-fashion. This will further keep fabric wastage to a minimum; as no stock will be produced, fabrics will never be over-ordered.
As with everything I produce, the garments will be made to last; therefore, the styles must be timeless. This collection of garments will be a work in progress. I do not plan to produce completely new designs on a regular basis. Instead, the pieces will be continually redeveloped and improved upon. The design process will be led entirely by the desire to create pieces that are sustainable and produce as little waste as possible.