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Returning to nature: the use of nature in contemporary fashion.
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ature is all around. We cannot avoid it. After All we are
nature too. So it is easy to see how the fashion industry can be influenced by nature and the world in which we live in today. Reading on you will learn some of the ideas and influences that nature has on the fashion industry today.
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Index COLOUR COLOUR OF THE YEAR COLOUR MOODBOARDS FABRICS STORE THE VULGAR NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM MAKERS HOUSE PRINTS TRIMS
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NATURES those that convey a sense of heat and vitality. Conveying earthiness, they are reminiseven more energy is Lapis cent of the hues that surBlue. Strong and confident, round us in nature. this intense blue shade is imantone have released a bued with an inner radiance. Pantone Niagara is a classic Next a red-based orange, spring colour chart every denim-like blue that speaks Flame, is gregarious and fun year since the 90’s. This year to our desire for ease and re- loving. Island Paradise is a 2017 the colour chart is based on nature. From colors laxation. By contrast, Prim- refreshing aqua that calls to rose Yellow sparkles with mind a change of scenery. that are bright and vivid to
P
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COLOURS A cool blue green shade that speaks to our dream of the great escape. Continuing the tranquil mood, Pale Dogwood is a quiet and peaceful pink shade that engenders an aura of innocence and purity. Bringing forth a refreshing take, Greenery is a tangy yel-
low-green that speaks to our need to explore, experiment and reinvent.Tropical and festive, Pink Yarrow is a whimsical, unignorable hue that tempts and tantalizes. Evocative of the great outdoors and a healthy lifestyle, Kale is another foliage-based green that
conjures up our desire to connect to nature, similar to the more vivacious Greenery. Rounding out the spring 2017 colors is Hazelnut, a key neutral for spring. This shade brings to mind a natural earthiness. ( PANTONE report spring 2017, 2016)
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ature brings us exciting colour palettes to
influence our fashion choices. The colour of the year 2017 is Greenery. Greenery hasn't got the suggestion of envy usually associated to green but
a fresh new start. This hue of green signifies a healthy choices, the growing vegetarian trend, the green leaves and the fresh cut grass in the the spring summer. ‘But most prominently, the yellow-green hue (specifically, Pantone 15-0343) comments on the concept of “environment.”’ (Hua, 2016). Appropriately greenery was used throughout the ss17 catwalks such as Gucci, Kenzo and Cynthia Rowley.
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Shades of Green
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Shades of Pink Returning to nature: the use of nature in contemporary fashion.
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Shades of Blue
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Shades of Orange Image source: authors own Returning to nature: the use of nature in contemporary fashion.
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hen man first started to wear clothes he
sourced them all from natural fibres. Today this
happens less so, we have replaced many natural fibres with synthetic alternatives. Natural fibres today are seen as a luxury when used in fashion garments, they are associate the garment with being of a better quality. Synthetic fibres can be just as good if not some cases better than natural fibres however they are much more destructive to our natural environment due to the harmful chemicals used to create them.
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Polyester and nylon are not biodegradable as they are made from petrochemicals making them unsustainable. Great amounts of energy are used in the manufacturing of these fibres emitting greenhouse gases, and nitrous oxide. It’s estimated that it takes about 70 million barrels of oil just to produce the virgin polyester used in fabrics each year. The harmful effect in which we manufacture gar-
ments has influenced many designers. Some top clothing designers, such as Fisher, Stella McCartney and Ralph Lauren are on the leading edge toward reforming the fashion industry. Eileen Fisher already uses 84 percent organic cotton, 68 percent organic linen and is reducing water use and carbon emissions. (EW Contributor, 2015)
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B
ioCouture is a new exciting
project based at Central Saint Martin's College in London. Suzanne Lee is creating a fabric from a vat of sugary green tea.
The fabric has leatherlike qualities, and can also be created to produce seamless garments. (Fairs, 2014) this is a sustainable method of manufacturing fabric that we may possibly be able to buy in the future.
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he natural environment has also impacted the way Le-
vi Strauss make their jeans. They have launched the Water<Less™ process which reduces the amount of water used in the finishing process. For instance, they remove water from stone washes or combine multiple wet cycle processes, to reduce water usage this can be up to 96 percent for some styles. But they still ensure that they make the same great product. Since launching the Water<Less™ process in 2011, Levi have saved more than 1 billion litres of water. This includes 30 million litres of fresh water saved through reuse and recycling. By 2020, the Levi’s brand aims to make 80 percent of its products using Water<Less™ techniques, up from nearly 25 percent today.( Water‹LessTM, 2016)
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all of our processes, in all of our markets.â&#x20AC;? Today, sustainable fashion goes way beyond organic cotton tees. All year round, H&M offer many sustainable basic fashion pieces, trendy tops and striking evening wear. Additionally, any people think of sustainable fashion each year H&M launch the Conscious Exclusive collection. This includes currently 239 as simply using sustainable fabrics, however it items for the customer to purchase. The colis a lot more than that. A great example of a lection comprises of high-end environmentally retailer taking action is H&M.They have a friendly pieces, aiming to move H&Mâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fashion dedicated team of 200 employees based in 21 and sustainability development towards a countries whose sole mission is to develop more sustainable fashion future. One of their ways to make the brand more sustainable. goals is to have all cotton in their products be They state on their website "Being a global organic by 2020. brand comes with a lot of responsibility. We take this responsibility very seriously, within
M
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Some fabrics that H&M include in their garments are very sustainable. They used recycled polyester this is more sustainable as it is made from PET bottle. Similarly polyamide is an oil based fibre that H&M use often in their jersey garments, however they are now using recycled polyamide instead. Recycled wool is also another fibre h&M use for their heavier outerwear this way they sae the raw materials which would end up in landfill. Denimite is an interesting H&M use in their accessories. This comes from shredded jeans mixed with resin which is then heated and pressed becoming a hard material resembling a jemstone. H&M were the first fashion company to use this material in their collection. Another
fibre they use is organic silk which is grown in an environmentally friendly way using natural and sustainable farming techniques. They also work with The Forest Stewardship Councilâ&#x201E;˘ (FSC) a global, independent, non-profit organisation, which protects and supports millions of acres of forest around the world. This is who H&M source their rubber from.For the 2016 Conscious Exclusive Collection, recycled glass was used in Art Decoinspired embellishment. From this we can see that H&M are very serious about using sustainable fabrics to help improve the impact fashion is having on the world.
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THE VULGAR
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t the vulgar we can see nature has influ-
enced fashion throughout history. Particularly when we look at floral patterns. We can see how Stephen jones is hugely inspired
by flowers when he creates his headwear. One of his creations shown at the vulgar overstated floral bouquet by literally placing a meadow inspire floral arrangement onto a headpiece. The vulgar also displayed many historical dresses of which included embroidered floral motifs and patterns. This natural influence is something that is not likely to go out of fashion as it has been seen for centuries and yet is still displayed in designers work today.
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BOTANICAL BROS Returning to nature: the use of nature in contemporary fashion.
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he natural history museum offers us the
chance to take a closer look at botanical drawings. Here we can see how artists and scientists view the natural world in 110 images from the Museum's collection in the Images of Nature gallery. (Natural History Museum, 2016) the museum currently feature the works of Franz and Ferdinand Bauer, two of the most accomplished natural history artists of all time. It is amazing to see the detail in the drawings something that fashion try to incorporate into their prints onto garments to create amazing garments. The collection featured an array of tropical flowers and foliage which would inspire designer, incorporating it Returning to nature: the use into of nature in contemporary fashion. 33 their collections.
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or exciting colour combinations the natural
world provides us with mineral rock formations. The natural history museum London displays a selection these beautiful minerals collected from across the globe. We can see how this has influ-
enced fashion from designers taking inspiration from the interesting colours and patterns within the minerals. An amazing example of this is Riccardo Tisci for Givenchy ss17 producing a collection inspired by in particular agate. Tisci has incorporated the minerals fiery colour palette and pattern to create a powerful collection. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I wanted to do something more sensual and more powerful, and for me, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tied to nature.â&#x20AC;? - Riccardo Tisci.
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BHM Minerals Returning to nature: the use of nature in contemporary fashion.
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hen walking
through the entrance of the exhibition one was surrounded by luscious green foliage. Once inside this greenery continued with large bouquets of fresh flowers place all around the exhibition. A close look at the Burberry collection it was obvious to
see nature's influence of the garments. Floral patterns were printed onto silk pyjama style two pieces and pleated organza skirts. As well as natural fabrics being used throughout the collection such as leopard print calfskin , snakeskin, alligator skin, ostrich leather, wool, lambs leather and silk.
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Floral Prints and street style year on year whether it be ditsy florals, graphic florals, abstract florals or baroque florals. It also doesn't matter what e can see designers taking season either they always seem to pop up. They just tend to take a inspiration from the nature often . different colour palette to suit the This is no surprise as its is an incollections. Floral patterns have fluence that we can all acbeen used throughout the 2017 cess. Floral prints were seen on pre fall collections with designers the Lavin and Victoria Beckham such as Gucci, Marchesa and catwalk for spring summer Naeem Khan using detailed floral 17. Floral prints are a macro prints in their collections. trend, they are seen on catwalks
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#ROAR
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nimals help to inspire print this season we have
seen heavy use of the leopard print in street style and on celebrities. This print has been featured on clutches, gloves, boots, and the key item this season the fur coat. Leopard is the perfect statement print with a bit of edge. It defies trends, works in any season and can be dressed up or down - whatever your age.
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#LFWEND
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line Lee collection to give a feminine twist to her masculine oversized garments. They were used to create a contemporary collection using cool tones of n a visit to London fashion week- sea blues, and greens with contrasting white backgrounds. end floral prints were used on the Ede-
O
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F.F.F FLORALS. FUR. FEATHERS
and Tony Ward. by adding embellishment we can make garments come to life with a 3D element. Floral trims are also used on embroidered garloral trims often appear ments this has dominated occasionwear for ss17. It creates romantic silhouettes due to heavily on occasion wear, the bold bouquets placed on evening gowns and accessodelicate fabrics. A report from ries. Recently we have seen wgsn state that the botanical an increase of embellished floprint will be a key trend for ral trims on the catwalks. For example Dolce and Gabbana ss17.
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use in street style. We have also seen fur carry on from the aw16 season into ss17 this is by placing small amounts on cuffs and collars. This adds a luxurious element to the seasons ur is a natural fabric that garments. Instead of seeing fur used in natural tones, we have has been used since the start of seen the fur trims with a much man and we still wear it today. It more summer colour palette by is a natural fabric which in toadding pops of colour to garday's society is replaced with ments to make them more interfaux synthetic alternatives. Fur esting. coats have been a big trend for this season aw16 due to its heavy
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stand out feather being the ostrich, which gives us light delicate softness which improves garments. We can expect it to come in complementary colour palettes of ou can clearly see the nature icy blues and midnight blacks. The placement of the feathers in ss17 influence when we look at feather will not be too imposing it will be used to create softness to hemlines trims. This are added to garments and accentuate shoulder details. on the shoulders, cuffs, and hems. It has been a key look for a few seasons and will continue gaining momentum for the ss17 looks. The
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e can gather inspiration
from all elements of nature, as well as nature inspires all elements of fashion from prints, trims, colours to fabrics and manufacture processes. As Coco Chanel once said â&#x20AC;&#x153;fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street. Fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.â&#x20AC;?
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