A new life for textile waste – upcycling in a fashion collection

Abstract

The fashion industry is one of the most important industries in the world from an economic and social point of view, but it is also one of the most polluting, being a larger consumer of natural resources and a considerable producer of waste throughout its value chain. It is imperative to change the way the fashion industry operates, the fast fashion model has to be rethought and the circular economy emerges as an alternative. These changes should start from the awareness of young fashion designers for the impact fashion has on the environment. Design schools, in general, have the function of opening the horizons of future designers to this problem and to the role they play with the choices they make. The present case study intends, in this way, to present an academic exercise, from the bachelor’s degree in Fashion Design and Marketing, from the University of Minho (2018/19 academic year) that consisted in the idealization and implementation of a fashion collection whose basis was a sustainable and circular perspective. “Signs of Life” collection took this stance by incorporating the reuse of pre-consumer textile waste, giving it an added value – upcycling.