Graysha Assoun

Sustainability is an important consideration in this project with great emphasis on re-using found materials and off-cuts from industrial companies.

Exploring the texture, material and playfulness of children’s toys and experimenting with creating my own ‘toys’ and textured materials inspired the development of my designs and formed embellishment ideas. The inclusion of craft techniques such as macramé, crochet, embroidery, weaving and print has enhanced and created a collection of playful variation and unusual textures.

Each year, consumers in the UK buy three billion garments, equivalent to approximately 50 items per person. The production of these garments wastes around 6-25% of total fabric in off-cuts and unused fabric.

This project re-imagines how clothes are made by creating fully-fashioned, seamless woven garments engineered on the loom, rather than by a cut-and-sew manufacturing process. 

Seamless woven fashion (SWF) manufacturing reduces off-cuts and can be produced in 30-40% less time than by conventional manufacturing. This efficiency can lead to an on-demand, made-to-order system producing, only, once the customer orders and thereby creating zero dead stock and total material efficiency. SWF technology also decreases labour costs which can translate to significant cost savings for consumers. By changing the entire garment manufacturing model, there will be no place for exploited garment workers. Therefore, this project tackles the three key aspects of sustainability: people, planet, profit.

Future-thinking this project, the eventual disappearance of manual labour will see a new nostalgic trend towards workwear and hand craft.  Aesthetically inspired by the functional elements and history of workwear, this project takes the design features of function and durability transforming them to decorative embellishment for a world of leisure.Using organic cottons and indigo dye, this project pays respects to the roots of denim and its long history with workwear. Key elements of workwear such as top-stitched seams for durability, knee padding, and quilting for warmth are re-interpreted only as aesthetic design elements to create a range of workwear in the new age.  The ‘workwear’ emphasises an exaggerated “hand crafted” look to be produced by robots.