Cindy Zhu

Week 1 – Introduction to sustainability

The term sustainability was introed to us in this week’s lecture, and after the lecture and  research I would understand sustainability in fashion in this way. That is, to continue to create fashion and reduce the negative impact on both the environment and society as much as possible. Some of the ways can be seen as the use of sustainable materials, not exploiting the labour of the garment industry and at the same time being environmentally friendly. This refers to reducing waste and pollution.

https://sustainability-success.com/what-is-sustainability-in-fashion/

1 An example of sustainable materials, will be ecofriendly fabrics. A variety of different materials are used to create fabrics that can be easily degraded. Many designers use their knowledge of biology to try to text a variety of ways to create eco friendly fabrics. Or clothing that lasts longer, such as fabrics that can loosen up as children grow.

2 I think the prints are full of impact, and the pattern in it can convey the message well. In Print Workshop, we try to create with discarded materials, and one of them I use beer bottle caps. I used two different colours on the front and back of the cap to print it. A combination of lines and polygons is formed. Perhaps it can make people realize that many seemingly useless items may have other uses as well. For some clothes that are no longer worn, maybe  can do a DIY transformation to make the clothes works again, instead of being thrown away.

3 The other item I chose was a discarded SIM card printed with it. I actually picked it up on the street. I personally have a habit of storing some recyclable plastic and cardboard at home and taking it out when I need to create it. It may not apply to clothing, but I think it also expresses my personal attitude towards sustainability.

Week2- Introduction to Technologies in Fashion

This week’s lecture we talked about a lot of different ways that technologies implied in fashion , and it’s something that I didn’t really pay much attention to before, I’ve never really been interested in technology, I like physical things that I can touch. However, through this lecture and also research over this week, I have a kind of understand that technology is very important, and if it is properly used, it is a good thing, which will bring a lot of help to design.

During this week, I learned how to use Midjourny. I used to be full of resistance to AI because of the unrealistic fear of being replaced by future robots on the one hand, and the contempt for copyright and disrespect for original works on the other hand. So I thought about how to use AI properly, maybe as a source of inspiration.

1 -I uploaded a picture of my week1 work in print.

This is the result I got, many of them turned into strange looks due to the unproficiency of the website, but after several attempts I got a very inspiring photo.

The connection part of the fifth photo reminds me of the used matches  in my recycle things  last week, so I wanted to combine matches with different sized bottle caps, but I don’t have many of these materials with me and using what I have I only got theses small parts.

It didn’t help.

I came up with the idea of using 3d modeling to implement this idea.

In this case, I’m using nomad.

I hadn’t had much experience with modeling before, so my models didn’t represent dynamics very well.But he gave me a sight of what this combination could look like.

In many ways, modeling and electronic painting can help us to experiment and compose ideas to the maximum extent possible while saving materials. And technologies like ai can help us do bold things quickly in a short amount of time.

This nomad experience makes me find that this kind of modelling may be very suitable for print students to try the appearance of textiles on the human body, instead of using a large amount of textile in reality. It might be very good for early adjustment.

Week3 -Introduction to the Environmental Impact of the Fashion Industry

In this week’s lecture, we discussed how the fashion industry as a massive global industry causes significant environmental pollution during the production. What surprised me most was the impact of cotton in fashion production on the environment, which I use to think as the most nature material can cause any harm. But its substantial water resource requirements and cause pollution during the dyeing process. These were issues I had never really considered before.

Cotton’s Water Requirements: Cotton is one of the most commonly used raw materials in the fashion industry, but it requires a vast amount of water to grow. This especially stresses local water resources in arid regions. Many cotton farms use large amounts of fertilizers, which can contaminate water through agricultural runoff, causing harm to water ecosystems.

Pollution during the Dyeing Process: In the manufacturing of clothing, cotton faces challenges during the dyeing process. Chemical  used in this process may contain harmful material. Wastewater released in dyeing factories can release harmful chemicals into ecosystems.

I learned two sustainable fashion solutions this week. One is organic cotton, which involves reducing the use of fertilizers and pesticides during production.The other solution is adopting alternative dyeing techniques, such as using natural dyes or recycling water systems to reduce environmental pollution during the dyeing process.

I tried making dyes from pumpkin and spinach. Initially, I wanted to experiment with plant stems to weave fabric, similar to textile I had done before.

However, due to time constraints, I used them for printing instead. On the blank canvas, I first drew some patterns using pumpkin and spinach juice.

Plant printing is a technique I really enjoy, and I tried two methods – one is tapping with a hammer to get the shape of the plant and the other using a spoon for scraping, which creates the outline and leaves the plant’s part blank.

Week4 – Introduction to Decolonising Fashion and
Textiles

This week’s lecture reminded me of a kind of carpet I learned about when I first came to London, Suzani. This blanket mostly comes from the countries of Central Asia. Most of them are made base on plant flower and fruit, because most of these carpets are made by women, and all the patterns come from the plants they see near them. I tried to make these following patterns base one the carpets I saw.

(from this shop in Brick Lane)

(nature pictures I take and based on)

Week5 – Introduction to Empathy

This week’s lecture is about empathy, and the first thing that comes to my mind is the use of art in psychotherapy. During this week’s exploration, with the consent of my friend, I made several prints with his House Tree and man experiment and random doodling and other colours around him.

（By my friend Addison Li.）

And he gave me the feedback that he never thought his random drawings could turn into such an effect, and it makes him feels so good.

My reflection

Over the past three weeks, I have got intro to and researched on three topics: sustainability, Technologies in Fashion, and the impact of the fashion industry on nature. After each lecture, I found myself in a state of confusion or even shocked, especially during the second week. Each week my works often began with a preliminary mental concept that evolved continuously during the examine process.

What I found most successful during these weeks was my time management. Knowing my tendency to procrastinate, I set weekly deadlines and allowed for enough extra time incase anything went wrong. Consequently, the weekly outputs were quite satisfactory to me. The more challenging parts were understanding the lectures each week and finding ways to demonstrate my understanding through my work, which presented a certain difficulty.

However, I am pleased that I have constantly challenged myself to step out of my comfort zone. I moved from blind belief and rejection to a reasonable acceptance and understanding through research. For instance, I learned a lot about the use of AI and modeling techniques, as well as the significant energy requirements and pollution involved in cotton growth.

In future learning, I plan to take better notes and records of websites and sources I visit, even that might seem useless when I first saw it. rather than closing them immediately after viewing, as this caused several difficulties during my research. I will also avoid setting overly ambitious goals before starting experiments and instead allow for more freedom in development as I experiment.

In the days ahead, I have decided on two important things: first, I will no longer blindly choose fabrics and will have background research before. Second, I will never be rejecting any technology too easily. I will seek for replacement of to cotton materials and learn more about AI and modelling techniques.