List of illustrations: 1. Figure 1. - Failure exemplified by the Dubied knitting machine - Numerous knots due to an undesirable increase in tension, London, 2019. Photography: Shipra Chandran.
2. Figure 2. - A screenshot from the movie trailer of ‘The True Cost’ 1
3. Figure 3. - What started it all: Inspired by the movie ‘The True Cost’, this mini-installation depicts waste that can’t be contained in the bag and ends up spilling out, London, 2019. Photography: Shipra Chandran. 2
4. Figure 4. - The infamous wool sweater, 1982 : Kawakubo thinks of the fabric with “holes” in it as being a kind of lace. 3
5. Figure 5 and 6. - Martin Margiela sample cultures and strains, made for the “9/4/1615” installation at Brooklyn Anchorage, New York, 1999. 4
6. Figure 7. - An Ode to the Imperfect: A darning sample by Bridget Harvey, displayed as part of the Open Studio in Sackler Centre, V & A Museum, London, 2019. Photography: Shipra Chandran.
7. Figure 8. - Absence: The omission of elements can play a role which is meaningful, London, 2019. Photography: Shipra Chandran
8. Figure 9. - Right that wrong : A sample of my own work; a knit swatch with four types of defects - (from left to right) ladders, grease stain, drop needle and loose loops at the end due to improper needle take-up, London, 2019. Photography: Shipra Chandran.
9. Figure 10. - Set right : A continuum with the above image (Figure 9), where mending has been done around the defect so as to: a. Highlight the imperfection b. Prevent the stitches from dropping to increase durability of the fabric, London, 2019. Photography: Shipra Chandran.
10. Figure 11. - Black hole: Staring bleakly back at you, London, 2019. Photography: Shipra Chandran.
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‘The True Cost’ is a novel documentary film that reveals the dark underbelly of the fashion industry - its social and environmental issues. 1
The ‘waste’ (here) comprises entirely of discarded yarns and swatches found in the Dubied knitting lab at the Royal College of Art, London. These are just a week’s worth of rejected samples! 2
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Leonard Koren, New Fashion Japan (Tokyo: Kodansha International, 1984), p.117.
Kaat Debo, Rebecca Arnold, and Sarah Mower, Margiela: The Hermès Years (Lannoo Publishers/ Racine, 2017), p.15. 4
