Creation: Senior Thesis Project

Fabrics Used: A variety of fabrics HERE

The Visionary: Callie Jensen, Calliejensen.com

Our Thoughts:  Callie from CallieJensen.com used Organic Cotton Plus sustainable fabrics as part of her thesis entitled "Made in ________". We think she did a fantastic job and wish her a wonderful career.

 

After World War One, there was a push for sustainable clothing development, not because it was “in fashion,” but because resources were scarce. The repair and reuse of items became a necessity, and fabrics were rationed just as were many other supplies. At the time, grains, flour, and plant growing supplements were delivered in cotton-linen bags that were durable and tightly woven as to transport the various kinds of feed. For women like my great-great-grandmother, who lived on farms, this created an incredible resource. The bags often came in friendly floral patterns which made them desirable and easy to repurpose into clothing. By the end of World War II, increases in mass production in the food and fashion industries created a depreciation in quality that persists today.

 

 

Fabrics used: Basketweave, Gabardine, Brass zip

 

 

Fabrics used: Hemp, Colorgrown

 

The goal of my senior thesis is to use this history as inspiration to take advantage of the resources that surround us today. Many groundbreaking developments have been made in fashion materiality and production toward sustainability. Sadly, most are often neglected due to cost or disregarded as an unfamiliar methods. I want to bring attention to these innovations. Beyond the design of the clothes (which reflect the "home spun" nature of the American feedbag history in fashion combined with contemporary utilitarian silhouettes), the concept of sustainability will be present in the fibers and textile treatments themselves.

 

Fabrics used: Colorgrown, Gauze

 

 

Fabrics used: Sateen, Dye

 

 

I plan to use a variety of bioengineered knits (including those made from soy, milk proteins, and bamboo) as well as organic woven fibers. I want to show that these materials are accessible and that something beautiful can be made from them. I want to show that fashion can be used as a platform to discuss issues of mass consumption and wasteful production. If granted the opportunity with this scholarship, I plan to create my thesis collection exclusively from these quality eco-materials, allowing my concept to speak not only through design, but through production as well.

 

Fabrics used: Hemp, Poplin, Voile