Sketch for the polka dot pom pom mini dress. Rainbow pom poms, black velvet, sustainable upcycling and my idea for this little black dress. I just love how neon all colours look against black velvet.
Also reminds me a little of motion capture outfits, maybe this will work in the metaverse too!
Click the photos for more info.
My thoughts on sustainable fashion today.
I just listened to a segment on radio 4 about sequins and the fashion indusrty needing to reduce by 60%. I think they meant cutting production by 60% not jobs?! Hopefully!
The above is a vintage dress upcycled with polka-dot pom poms. I'm a very small designer producing a handful of garments a year. All designed and made to last a life time.
And I still feel guilty for making more dresses!
Upcycling is part of it, but not just for the sake of ticking a green box. At the end of the day a good design can last 100 years and more, in any materials. Today there was 'sequin bashing' tomorrow someone will stress about zips. Whatever the price, just don't consume SO much. Keep that dress in the wardrobe or let someone else wear it and never, ever throw clothes in the bin. Someone had to make it!
Garment workers need to be paid a fair sustainable wage in a safe working environment, fast fashion companies need to produce less and charge more. The days of undervaluing everything need to end. £5 for a new dress is as bad as £5 for sex work. Humans are worth more than that! We need to by less and get better at styling. And second hand is a great way to shop on any budget.
My thoughts on my work today!
Recovery has been a little slower and different from the first op. The 'after' part is harder than being in the whirlwind that is cancer treatment. Survival mode most definitely kicked in and I was motivated, productive and keeping my mind off the terror.
But afterwards when they say you're fine, 'go get on with your life', its like standing on the edge of space with a universe of wonderful possibilities ahead, but all I really want to do is climb back under the duvet because I'm all out of enthusiasm.
Why am I so much better in a drama!?
Maybe I can create a little drama, a design drama, a creative jeopardy, a dress peril. Maybe if I don't sketch an idea I'll explode like the bus in speed? More likely I'll quietly wither away in a boring fashion.
I need to ask myself the question 'what if I don't do this work I dreamt of doing since the age of 11?' I'm in the most extreme form of procrastination and have been for a while. Always terrified to do my own work. But I've gone through far scarier stuff, this is just dresses and no one's even looking anyway. They're all looking at dogs chasing their tails or Britney Spears, doing the same.
The saddest thing will be to die and have never tried to create these things in my head.
Every day I say, sketch something. Every day I don't. Well today I did.
Little ramble over.