Fashion students host a ‘Trashion’ exhibition at the Wedge Gallery

The ‘Trashion’ exhibition is running from 10th – 20th October.

‘Trashion’ is a collaborative installation that combines work by year 1 and year 2 fashion students. Their aim has been to explore ideas of sustainability and bring attention to the devastating effects that the fashion & textiles industry, particularly that of the fast fashion cycle, has had on our environment.

Why ‘Trashion’?

Sustainable fashion is a highly debated topic in the fashion and textiles industry. More and more clothing companies are transforming their business models and improving their supply chains to reduce overall environmental impacts, improve social conditions in factories, and reduce their carbon footprint. Keeping the planet environmentally sustainable requires us to be aware of things like waste fabrics, chemicals used in the process of fabrics, waste-water from cotton production and dyeing, as well as the impact of transportation.

Our students have worked with used shirts and every part of their work has been created using waste clothing, waste fabrics and waste threads, as well as left-over dyes and paints, and environmentally friendly dyes and sprays.

Fast Fashion has been labelled as the number one cause in the troubled environmental impact of the fashion and textiles industry. It has been associated with greenhouse gases, water and air pollution, troubling levels of waste, and poor working conditions.

But what is fast fashion? Essentially it refers to inexpensive clothing produced rapidly by mass-market retailers in response to the latest trends. Fast fashion is a contemporary term to describe the movement from couture catwalks to affordable chain stores. The clothing collections in these stores are based on the most recent fashion trends presented at fashion weeks. The clothes are designed and manufactured quickly and cheaply to allow consumers to buy current styles at a lower price. At its heart, the fast fashion business model relies on consumers endlessly buying more clothes. Brands tempt consumers by offering ultra-cheap garments and ever-changing new ranges. Fast fashion is focused on responding to ever-changing consumer tastes as quickly as possible.

The endless creation of new clothes comes with a heavy environmental price.

The fast fashion model leads to overconsumption and produces a lot of waste. For example, the average American household produces 70 pounds of textile waste every year, and roughly 10.5 million tons of textile waste is being thrown away annually in the entire country. The clothes discarded into landfills are often made from synthetic or inorganic materials which prevent them from being able to degrade properly, causing negative effects on the environment.

In addition to the impact on landfills and the environment, new studies indicate that the fibers in our clothes could be poisoning our waterways and food chain on a massive scale. Microfibers – tiny threads shed from fabric – have been found in abundance on shorelines where wastewater is released.

The impact of the fast fashion cycle on our environment has inspired the sustainable fashion movement, which aspires to be eco-friendly and socially responsible.

A huge well done to the following students who’s work is on show

Summer Bassett, Karla Chivers, Lois Cope, Emelia Cox, Luke Hawkins, Tegan Hewitt, Ruby Horton, Erin Hull, Eve Iverson, Leah Johnstone, Regan Leach, Rhianna Mallee, Aimee McDonald, Ramone Pallett, Eren Prince, Bonnie Watson, Carys Wilson, Joshua Askey, Edith Asser, Emilia Burnham, Lexi Deeley, Eva Hamlet, Eve Heaps, Olivia Lawton, Jessica Meek Max Plimmer Libby Prince, Emily Ranwell Amelia Thacker Amy Twinney, Tallulah Ward, Charlotte Weals.