Quirky Couture

Investigating sustainability in the textiles industry

This semester in Quirky Couture, Year 9/10 Textiles students began their exploration into sustainability within the textiles industry through a research task. Students each formulated their own research question and conducted both primary and secondary research. Students had to work creatively within the constraints of remote learning to produce this task, particularly in conducting primary research and presenting their findings to their classmates via Webex - I’m very proud of them!

Emma Salmon's reflection on her Textile’s Research Assignment: 

“I really liked making it and doing research on the topic I chose. I chose to do it manually for two reasons: I really like the look of collage and had been thinking of making a zine in my spare time, and I also wanted to get away from screens. What attracts me to sewing and constructing things using my hands is that you are making something that is tangible, something that you can physically feel. A lot of other mediums used to create something and express your ideas are not physical - for example, writing, music, digital art, film - sure, you are still using your hands to type or play an instrument or hold a camera, but you are not crafting something manually the way you sew a garment or in my case, make a collage. I think digital mediums are really great, however in this pandemic it's been really great for me to create things I can grasp and feel because everything else feels really uncertain right now, because we are all kind of fighting this 'invisible enemy'. Having something to create that is concrete and isn't elusive has been really beneficial and I'd recommend making a collage or zine or something to anyone who wants to!”

See more of Emma's work on the impact of consumer trend cycles; read Karla's report on Bio Fashion; plus how consumers can extend the lifespan of clothing by Rose in their reports attached below.

Catherine de Sousa

Design teacher