Fashion Expo & Knitting and Stitch show...
Posted by Zoe Fletcher on Saturday, October 9, 2010
This will have to be a quick catch up of the last few days - as I never seem to be around a computer when I have time to write!!
On Wednesday a few of us headed down to the Fashion Expo show and lectures, held in Westminster. Hosted by the Ethical Fashion Forum it was a great opportunity to see lots of different manufacturers, companies and designers all focused on creating a more sustainable and ethical fashion industry. Although quite tightly packed in quite a small location - with a slight feeling of claustrophobia whilst pushing through the crowds to see each stall (which can only be a good thing as it showed there was a good turn out!) it was good to see such diverse companies specialising in many different fields - from fabric manufacture to knitting cooperatives in Africa.
There were three stalls which really interested me and directly related to my project - Izzy lane - which was great to see their new collection of high end clothing, Marling and Evans - a woven cloth producer using only naturally coloured British Wool, all processed in England, using the variation in colours to create beautiful patterns, and Mikono Knits a cooperative operating in Kenya, where women hand knit organic cotton and African wool in their own homes.
Thursday involved a trip to The Knitting and Stitch Show, held at Alexandra Palace, where I volunteered for the UK Hand Knitting Association, helping teach people to knit, although not very busy as I had a quite early morning shift, hopefully the event went well for them and it got a little bit busier in the afternoon! I rushed to university then headed home to quickly pack before getting the bus back up to Bolton ready for a busy Friday...
On Wednesday a few of us headed down to the Fashion Expo show and lectures, held in Westminster. Hosted by the Ethical Fashion Forum it was a great opportunity to see lots of different manufacturers, companies and designers all focused on creating a more sustainable and ethical fashion industry. Although quite tightly packed in quite a small location - with a slight feeling of claustrophobia whilst pushing through the crowds to see each stall (which can only be a good thing as it showed there was a good turn out!) it was good to see such diverse companies specialising in many different fields - from fabric manufacture to knitting cooperatives in Africa.
There were three stalls which really interested me and directly related to my project - Izzy lane - which was great to see their new collection of high end clothing, Marling and Evans - a woven cloth producer using only naturally coloured British Wool, all processed in England, using the variation in colours to create beautiful patterns, and Mikono Knits a cooperative operating in Kenya, where women hand knit organic cotton and African wool in their own homes.
Thursday involved a trip to The Knitting and Stitch Show, held at Alexandra Palace, where I volunteered for the UK Hand Knitting Association, helping teach people to knit, although not very busy as I had a quite early morning shift, hopefully the event went well for them and it got a little bit busier in the afternoon! I rushed to university then headed home to quickly pack before getting the bus back up to Bolton ready for a busy Friday...
Currently undertaking a PhD at Manchester Metropolitan University within the MIRIAD post-graduate department, I am beginning a practice based academic journey into British wool fibres and new technologies within knitwear design.
Graduating with Distinction from a Masters in Fashion and the Environment at London College of Fashion, specialising in hand-knitting and the British Wool Industry,
I have worked on a number of knitwear collections (personal and external companies), whilst freelancing and researching for a number of exciting projects.
My work revolves around the idea of sustainable fashion from a knitted perspective and the different ways to achieve this incorporating the ideas of slow fashion into mainstream society.
I love knitting.
And wool.
And double sided sticky tape.
