(UNIversity of CAMPANIA “L.Vanvitelli )
embracing circular fashion
Fashion Design Bachelor and Master Courses, in partnership with RHITA
COORDINATORS: ROBERTO LIBERTI AND CHIARA SCARPITTI
PARTNERS: YAMAMAY, PRISM
The pilot case study, called ‘YamamaY Reloaded’, repositioned the theoretical concepts of ‘deep ecology’ and ‘neo-materialism’ as central to the capsule collections of prototyped clothing and accessories. The project was carried out within the Fashion Laboratories of the Triennial and Master’s Degree in Fashion at the Department of Architecture and Industrial Design of the University of Campania ‘Luigi Vanvitelli’ and was characterised by a succession of conceptual and executive phases.
In relation to the recovery of textile resources and the circularity of production achieved, the RHITA project has redeemed a huge amount of deadstock, i.e. unsold garments from previous collections of the YamamaY brand. In addition to making the garments available, the company has established a fruitful and ongoing dialogue with the various students with a view to actually reintroducing some of the collections onto the market.
The collections include a series of elegant, figure-hugging, unique garments, created by combining several items. The manipulation of individual unsold garments involved techniques such as unpicking, draping, dyeing and textile reconstruction. The use of creative actions on fabrics and references to complex concepts have strengthened the link between thinking and making fashion and have given rise to collections with a strong aesthetic and conceptual impact. The colour palette of each collection was chosen on the basis of the materials in stock, re-evaluated through a series of conceptual associations, metaphorical actions and scenario concepts.
Among the perspectives that RHITA’s design approach has attempted to trigger this pilote case study is based on the “re-evaluation of material resources”.
The use of existing materials, rather than the production of new ones, asserts the existence of an inventive possibility that is also expressed through a lower expenditure of resources and a reduction in the environmental damage associated with them. Every material, even in a post-consumer phase, can offer an immense variety of process transformations, new manipulations and metamorphoses. Awareness of this potential can inspire innovation in design, inviting original and unique experimentation.
