Historical Perspectives on Sustainable Fashion

For centuries, the fashion industry has struggled to reconcile style with sustainability. In Historical Perspectives on Sustainable Fashion, you will be transported back in time to discover the historical dimensions of today's sustainable fashion movement. An array of success stories and cautionary tales provide both inspiration and warnings for the eco-conscious designer, encouraging an innovative approach that builds on predecessors' discoveries to move the practice of fashion forward. The 1st edition, Sustainable Fashion: Past, Present and Future, emerged from the Museum at FIT's groundbreaking exhibition 'Eco-Fashion: Going Green'. This revised edition broadens perspectives even further, incorporating eye-opening examples of designers, brands and activists working for change across the world today. Likewise, a new chapter examines the globalized mainstream fashion system and historical alternatives that provide compelling inspiration for reimagining the status quo. Fascinating and timely, Historical Perspectives on Sustainable Fashion examines progressive fashion through a historical lens, encouraging readers to question the state of the industry and demonstrating the value of historical insights in enabling and inspiring change.

Dr Amy Twigger Holroyd is Professor of Alternative Fashion Systems at Nottingham School of Art & Design, part of Nottingham Trent University. She has explored the emerging field of fashion and sustainability since 2004, initially via her craft fashion knitwear label, Keep & Share. Amy's work has been featured in various exhibitions, books and publications, from Vogue to Fashion Theory. Her research today focuses on fashion transitions: the participatory exploration of alternative, open and plural fashion systems that respect the Earth's capacity to support life. Amy's Arts & Humanities Research Council-funded Fellowship project, Fashion Fictions, brings people together to generate, experience and reflect on engaging fictional visions of alternative fashion cultures and systems. Other initiatives include Reknit Revolution, a project supporting knitters to rework the items in their wardrobes, and research networks Stitching Together and Crafting the Commons. Amy has authored and edited several books, including her monograph Folk Fashion: Understanding Homemade Clothes (I.B. Tauris, 2017).

Introduction 1. Materials and processes Materials and processes: how did we get here? The development of cotton Wool and its competitors Silk and rayon Synthetic fibers Unconventional materials The invention of synthetic dyes Human impacts of dyeing Environmental impacts of dyeing Materials and processes: inspiration for change Organic cotton The resurgence of wool Hemp and flax Lyocell and bamboo Lower impact dyes Natural dyes Materials and processes: thinking critically Materials and processes: further reading 2. Design and Manufacture Design and manufacture: how did we get here? Clothing production before mechanization Advancements in spinning and weaving The sewing machine and ready-made clothing Choice and disposability Design and manufacture: inspiration for change Wartime restrictions and quality Post-war couture Artisanal techniques and slow fashion5 Design features Design and manufacture: thinking critically Design and manufacture: further reading 3. Reuse and Recycling Reuse and recycling: how did we get here? Repurposing practices Shawls and scraps The Great Depression and the Second World War Shoddy recycling Reuse and recycling: inspiration for change Post-war repurposing The rise of vintage Repurposing and upcycling in the 1990s and 2000 A new era of fiber recycling Reuse and recycling: thinking critically Reuse and recycling: further reading 4. Labor Practices Labor practices: how did we get here? Textile mills Child labor Garment factories Globalization and sweatshops Subcontracting and safety Labor practices: inspiration for change Unionization Labeling Designer-led action Labor rights in a globalized industry Cooperatives and fair trade Labor practices: thinking critically Labor practices: further reading 5. Treatment of Animals Treatment of animals: how did we get here? Feather adornments The use of fur Trapping and farming Treatment of animals: inspiration for change Anti-feather campaigns Anti-fur campaigns Fake and "ethical" fur Treatment of animals: thinking critically Treatment of animals: further reading 6. Fashion systems Fashion systems: how did we get here? Enclosure, capitalism and modernity The European fashion system and the Industrial Revolution Consumerism and change Fashion systems: inspiration for change How clothes are used New approaches to dressing the body Challenging social norms Domestic and custom making Local production and local distinctiveness Restricting and managing production Fashion systems: thinking critically Fashion systems: further reading Conclusion Notes Select bibliography Glossary Index