IS THERE A ZERO WASTE IN A FASHION DESIGN?

Abstract

Each year around 400 billion m2 of textiles are produced in the world in the linear economy. About 15% of the fabric used to make clothes end up in the waste during the cutting process. Although there are a number of recycling initiatives in the fashion industry towards circular economy, the application of zero-waste principles in fashion design practice and production are only solitary cases. Traditional fashion education methods emphasise the primary satisfaction of the designer's ambitions and there is a myth in fashion design that it is not possible to produce aesthetic clothing of any silhouette, assortment, and size with zero-waste principles. The work process is considered time consuming and too complicated. This paper analyses zero-waste fashion design learning-teaching square assignment method, its challenges and opportunities to help students to practice the form and style, technological and prototyping towards sustainability in fashion design. The analysis shows the purposefulness of the constraints in the experimental fashion design process and reveals the importance of missing skills, as well as prejudices of using zero-waste principles versus traditional fashion design technologies. Developed zero-waste fashion design learning-teaching methods are an alternative educational paradigm that provides students with knowledge and skills towards real sustainable revolution in fashion design and production.