Canberra Institute of Technology, Centre for Creative Industries graduates Alice Sutton and Amy Taylor provide a promising example of the possibilities of pushing the boundaries of sustainability and design in a more conceptual direction. Through their labels EDITION and AYLOR they have utilised the whole system of zero waste, incorporating the entire piece of cloth, from Selvedge to Selvedge.
Zero Waste design is just the starting point for Sutton and Taylor who also layer several other best practice approaches, including organic and recycled, into their collections. As a celebration of their commitment to zero waste they have launched a collaborative project
Selvedge to Selvedge .
The designers use this platform to bring zero waste design to the fore of their practicing mindset. Looking through their blog, it’s obvious they are thinking about sustainability and the creative process, igniting various discussions surrounding sustainable design, from inspiration through making and presentation. The way they have brought sustainable design into consciousness, through genuinely innovative collections casts a much more optimistic light on the future of sustainable design in Australia. Images from their recent photo shoot, on location in Mount Stromlo Observatory, Canberra ACT for EDITION and Collector, NSW for AYLOR are irrefutable evidence of sustainable fashion's ascendance in the style stakes, given they were both DIY undertakings put together with no access to mainstream models or photographers.
That graduate designers are hitting the ground running with regard to sustainability shows how some fashion schools are successfully incorporating sustainability into the curriculum. While sometimes I feel that Australia has a long way to go towards environmentally sound fashion systems, these moments of achievment from young designers like Sutton and Taylor make me proud, hopeful and excited about the future of sustainable fashion design.