HOME GROWN HERITAGE // CAPSULE 2019

My capsule project "HOME GROWN HERITAGE" is a celebration of traditional British textiles and historical dress. My aim was to design a collection of gender-neutral garments that are made from natural textiles sourced from the British Isles and that if possible, would be placed into the 'Heritage' category. I researched into the fabrics that the British Isles produced historically and what it still produces today. This research was supported by my dissertation, which was an overview of the British Textiles Industry; past, present and possible future. I investigated Harris tweed and woollen textiles from the British Isles and Irish Linen. The final apron and jumpsuit were made entirely from Irish Linen. I also looked into common clothing features pre-1920, as I feel that the clothing from these periods in terms of fibre-content(natural) and how the clothes are worn (layered and swapped between outfits). I feel the attitudes to clothing in the past i.e. textiles and garments where fewer than today so you where precious over what you had, could be implemented today in order to slow some of the effects of Fast Fashion. Clothing was made to a high quality and to last longer, it could be adjustable to fit through weight gain, which I looked into for my collection. Clothing was made to be layered through warm and cold weather and swapped out if an item was to get dirty, therefore to save on washing, which is why I made a garment which could be layered and had a row of buttons at the waist so you could change the panel (Tartan Piece). I looked into working peoples clothing throughout these periods particularly, which is what inspired the apron design.