Tonka Crljen
Hacking the Loop
Background
The core of the project lies in upcycling. From the start of the research, I wanted to find new creative ways of upcycling garments and textiles. However, upcycling is a part of a greater whole which deals with addressing the problem of fashion waste. It gives new value to the clothes and prolongs the life span of the clothes. It is a craftivism act since it plugs into an existing system and shapes it towards a more sustainable direction. Thus this project wanted to take a larger approach and include consumers into the process.
Design proposal
The purpose of the project was to explore one of the ways to encourage consumers to upcycle their clothes. This was done through an upcycling workshop. In the upcycling workshop, the consumer visualized the way they want their clothes to be upcycled. Their garments were then upcycled using DIY methods such as stitching, patching, and painting. The process was recorded in details. The whole process was then translated into a craftivist zine. The zine demonstrates how to do your own upcycling workshop and how to upcycle three garments. The upcycling workshop and the zine want to encourage the consumer to upcycle by giving them the necessary skills to do so.
Exhibition pop-up
Upcycling workshop
In the workshop, the participants were invited to visualize the upcycling of the garments. There were 7 participants in total. The first task of the workshop was to trace the origin of the garment the participant brought. In the second task, participants visualized the upcycling of their garments. The participant first needed to trace out their garment on a piece of white paper. After they traced their garment, the participant cut out the tracing and did visual iterations on it. The workshop lasted for one hour and thirty minutes in total. The main task of the workshop lasted for about one hour. After the participants did visual iterations they discussed their ideas.
Hacking the Loop- a guide to fashion craftivism
