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The Contradiction Between Low-Carbon Environment And Fashion Beauty: How Can We Make Fashion No Longer Destroy The Earth

2022/12/19 16:15:00 179

Low Carbon Environment

  Alexander McQueen, the godfather of fashion and British fashion designer, once said, "Nature is the best designer." There are countless animals and plants on the earth, and their beauty is endless. No wonder the fashion industry always gets inspiration from nature.

Recently, the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London held an exhibition called "Fashion from Nature". The purpose of this exhibition is to explore how the fashion industry has imitated all things in nature, drawn inspiration from nature, and plundered and destroyed the natural resources of the earth since the 17th century. Some works of designer McQueen were also exhibited in the exhibition.

  

  Image source, VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, LONDON

Text is added to the image. The details of the British brocade fabric in the image show that the inspiration of the dress designers in the 18th century came from nature.

   Fashion has always loved nature, but also plundered nature. This is the core puzzle of the existence of fashion, and also the proposition that this exhibition tries to think about and explore. The curator Edwina Ehrman introduced to the reporter of the BBC Culture Channel that "this exhibition is a tribute to the nature, the source of inspiration in the fashion industry, and also a reflection on the relationship between human beings and nature.

We like to decorate ourselves with nature, but we should also reflect more deeply on the distorted relationship between fashion and nature. Fashion design draws inspiration from nature, but ruthlessly plunders the nature's creations - water, raw materials and energy. "

  The caption on the image shows Auguste Champot's cape made of rooster feathers in 1895.

There are many interesting and shining exhibits on the exhibition, such as a man's silk vest with macaque patterns made in the 1880s; Some leopard pattern beautiful skirts produced in the 1930s and 1990s; A jacket made in the 17th century and decorated with bean sprouts; A lace handkerchief with decorative patterns of ferns; There are also a number of clothing and fashion illustrations from the 19th century, which are printed with seashells and seaweed patterns.

Of course, there are also some fashion luxuries recently launched in the exhibition, such as a Giles Deacon senior dress with a beautiful bird egg pattern, and fashion accessories under Dior, Dries van Note, Philip Treacy and other brands. A handbag recently launched by Gucci brand was also on display at the exhibition. It was inlaid with fox head buckles and decorated with deer horn beetles. The exhibitor also borrowed some real antler beetles from the Natural History Museum and put them beside the handbag for reference.

  

  Image source, GUCCI

The images are annotated with words. Up to now, designer brands still often draw lessons from natural animals and plants; As shown above, a handbag recently launched by fashion brand Gucci is decorated with fox head buckle and beetle pattern.

On the exhibition, an exhibit from designer McQueen was selected from his "Plato's Atlantis" series. This series is inspired by the legend of Atlantis, a country that sank in the Atlantic Ocean, mentioned in Plato's Dialogues. It is imagined that because of the warming of the earth, the sea level rises, and the land is flooded, human beings are finally forced to live an amphibious life.

Although the charm of the exhibits in this exhibition is self-evident, the exhibition itself is intended to explore the deeply rooted relationship between nature and fashion in detail. This relationship is both symbiotic and destructive. Therefore, this exhibition also shows us the other side of fashion: in the name of fashion, mankind has brought havoc to the beautiful earth - chemicals and dyes that pollute water and air, and ruthlessly take materials from animals to make shoes and bags.

The exhibition deeply asks us: How many natural resources do humans want to beautify themselves through external decoration at the cost of depletion?

  

Image source, VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, LONDON

As shown in the figure, McQueen's "Plato's Atlantis" series was exhibited in the exhibition, and its design inspiration came from the amphibious life.

The pursuit of elegance has led to the innocent sacrifice of many rare birds and animals. Among the exhibits is a cape from France, which was made from the feathers of rooster and pheasant in 1895; Another skirt is decorated with a large number of scarab's metal green wing sheaths; Another pair of earrings made around 1875 are extremely exaggerated. They are made from the heads of two rare red legged honey finches.

The exhibition also shows an X-ray scan of a corset made of whale bones in the 1880s; And two fans, one made from tortoise shells in the 18th century, and the other carved from mother of pearl.

  

Image source, VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, LONDON

The image is annotated with words. On the picture is one of the exhibits - a fan carefully carved from mother of pearl, which was made in France in the 19th century.

Raw materials for fashion manufacturing come from nature. Curator Elman said: "Fashion is inspired by nature, but don't forget that fashion also depends entirely on nature. The fuel and water for production are all from nature." She showed us a rayon skirt cut diagonally. This skirt was produced in the 1920s. Elman described it as "elegant but toxic.".

"Because the production process of rayon, a chemical fiber material, will release toxic gases to pollute the air and water, which will be harmful to human health. Looking forward to more than ten years later, 2030, when fashion production may lead to very terrible consequences." She said, "We should take a long-term view, and what we grow will result. "

Fashion draws its material from nature. These materials are either original or synthetic. In the manufacturing process, human beings destroy the environment, abuse animals, and even exploit human compatriots. Protest groups such as the "Fashion Revolution" have launched a series of actions advocating "transparency in the fashion industry". The exhibition also exhibited the works of some fashion designers who stood up for climate change, such as Katharine Hamnett, Vivienne Westwood and others.

    

Image source, VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, LONDON

Many rare animals were killed and made into fashionable luxuries. The earrings on the picture are made from the heads of two honey finches in 1875.

Of course, the future is not all dark. Elman said: "Fashion will reflect on the environment of our times, and fashion is good at persuasion. Through constant innovation, fashion can lead to change." She gave some examples to show that some fashion brands are already setting new goals and taking positive actions to set an example. Brands such as Versace and Gucci no longer use real animal fur. She added, "At present, about two thirds of fashion studios or companies have changed their production processes. I am a optimist. In this exhibition, some of the exhibits are available to ordinary consumers in stores. These things are completely different, representing the future trend of fashion development."

  

    Image source, VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, LONDON

Image caption: This is a print advertisement published in Britain from 1901 to 1914, called "London Fashion Fur City", reflecting the popularity of animal fur at that time.

Some exhibits on the exhibition fully reflect the fashion innovation. For example, the fashion items from Stella McCartney brand use microfilament without animal ingredients, which is a spider silk artificial synthetic fiber newly invented by Bold Threds, an American enterprise; A skirt produced by Haines Morris (Swedish: Hennes&Mauritz AB, abbreviated as H&M) is made from recycled marine garbage; A Patagonia brand coat is made of renewable polyester; There is also a luminous skirt, which is the British Japanese artist Sputniko! (Real name: Hiromi Ozaki) is realized by means of genetic engineering.

We also saw a pair of trousers made of synthetic spider silk, a handbag made of pineapple leaf fiber, a Ferragamo brand coat made of fiber extracted from citrus processing waste, etc. Among the exhibits on site, there is also a dress that is particularly eye-catching. This beautiful dress from Calvin Klein brand is completely made of recycled plastic bottles.

  

Image source, GETTY IMAGES

Image caption: The Calvin Klein brand skirt worn by actress Emma Watson at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala (Met Gala for short) in New York is made of recycled plastic bottles.

In 2016, Emma Watson, the actress, appeared in this dress at the charity dance at the fashion house of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. This skirt has also been selected into the Green Carpet Challenge (GCC). The plan aims to integrate sustainable development and fashion organically.

   Sustainable innovation

Curator Elman said: "We can learn some lessons from the past. Take flax as an example, it is a kind of sustainable renewable fiber, which has been planted for hundreds of years in northern France, Belgium and the Netherlands. We hope to take people through the exhibition to review the history and see how flax was originally made into clothes. From this, the audience will think about what fiber our clothes are and how to make them. We should also It is necessary to know that clothes come from hard work, so as to know how to cherish them and make them wear for a long time. "

  

    The caption on the image shows that "Vegea" is an environmentally friendly "leather" material made from grape residue waste. The skirt made of this material fully demonstrates the innovative technology with sustainability.

John Alexander Skelton, a British designer, believes that fashion design should have historical connotation and be enduring. In this exhibition, some of his designs were also exhibited. Many of the clothes designed by Skelton are made of old sacks of grain in France, which have many traces of time.

He introduced to the reporter of the BBC Culture Channel, "For example, the hemp fiber used to make this waistcoat was produced near my hometown Yorkshire. It was hand spun and then woven into a waistcoat. These wooden soled shoes were made by the oldest wooden soled shoe maker in the UK, and they are antique designs."

He said that the exhibits he brought to the exhibition had a common theme, "There are traces of handwork in the production process. This is very important for my work. I have to feel the imperfections carefully, and carefully appreciate the history and history behind each work. All the raw materials in my design are from the nature. I also like to trace back to the source, and know when and where these materials were produced."

Skelton is also very particular about the production process. He said: "All my design and production should have the lowest carbon emissions. For the fashion industry, sustainable development is extremely important. But now people seem to pursue it as a trend, which is too formalistic. I think the concept of sustainable development should be integrated into all fashion designs, rather than just talking about concepts in works."

"Recycling" is also the core concept pursued by G-Star Raw brand. In the exhibition, the brand's tannin series are also on display. Frouke Bruinsma, the brand spokesman of G-Star Raw, introduced to the reporter of BBC Culture Channel: "We attach great importance to the sustainable innovation in the production process of tannin fabrics. The materials we use are certified by 'cradle to cradle design'. According to Bruinsma, this certification is based on the sustainability of the production process. He said:" When we are designing, we will focus on the future. This concept is not only reflected in the appearance of the product, but also in its more far-reaching follow-up impact. Our core goal is to explore sustainable development solutions in the design process of Tanning. Based on the concept of 'circular economy', we continue to produce and process in the way of 'use production reuse'; This is totally different from the production path of 'use make discard' under 'linear economy'. "

  

   The image is annotated with words. This T-shirt with the slogan of Greenpeace comes from the 1990s, when the environmental problems brought by climate change began to be emphasized.

The message of this exhibition is optimistic. Curator Elman said: "This exhibition focuses on how fashion is inspired by the beauty of nature, and how it can damage the nature afterwards. At the same time, these damages have also caused the fashion industry to pay attention to sustainable development and take various innovative measures. The exhibition also does not mean to convey something similar to" Everything is worth doing for sustainable development. " Renewable materials should be used for everything "And other information. It is a fact that fashion has damaged the environment to some extent. We must change and incorporate sustainable development into our fashion design to make it normal. The era we live in is so diverse, inclusive and exciting. Although we come from all walks of life, we are all willing to explore how to coexist with nature in a balanced way, with awe Rong. "

  

The artist Vee Speers created a series of photos with animal skulls. These works are also exhibited in the exhibition "Fashion Originates from Nature".

Elman grew up in Huddersfield, West Riding, West Yorkshire, England in the 1960s and 1970s, when it was the manufacturing center of the British textile industry. She recalled, "Industry did bring economic prosperity, but it also brought pollution. At that time, the water in the river was pink one week, turned purple the next week, and the surrounding high-rise buildings were polluted black. Local residents suffered from mucositis and other diseases due to dust and pollution. Later, environmental protection legislation and the transfer of textile industry improved the environment."

  

Image source, VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, LONDON

This is a detailed drawing of a silk material made at the end of the 19th century. It is exquisitely embroidered with rose patterns.

As for the original intention of holding the exhibition, Elman said: "Today is the right time to hold this exhibition. If it were held in 2014, it might seem preachy. But now there are many news reports about human damage to the environment, such as marine plastic waste. Now is the right time to hold this exhibition. I sincerely hope that it can stimulate some discussion and thinking. When I was planning earlier, I just wanted to make a beautiful and interesting fashion of 'natural enlightenment' Exhibition. But on second thoughts, I still sincerely hope to leave a better world for future generations. "


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