Scraps: Fashion, Textiles, and Creative Reuse: A New Exhibit at the Textile Museum
By Lauren Klamm
Before you throw out those old bits of fabrics, torn shirts or worn out blankets, take a trip to Scraps: Fashion, Textiles, and Creative Reuse (now through January 7, 2018) the new exhibit at the Textile Museum at George Washington University. The show highlights three designers, Reiko Sudo of Tokyo, Luisa Ceves of Milan, and Christina Kim of Los Angeles, who are transforming how the fashion industry treats traditionally discarded materials. From a torn sari to the tangled inner casing of a silk cocoon, nothing is wasted.
Old and worn clothes often seem easier to just throw away, but reinvestment, not only in the textile itself, but also the craft of making clothing, could have world-impacting consequences. In 2010, the EPA estimated that the US alone discarded 13.1 million tons of textiles, a shocking 11 million tons of which made it into landfills!¹ From the space it consumes to the chemicals off-gassing into the soil and air, textile waste is a major issue. Reducing and eliminating this waste and changing the way we look at these old clothes could have a great impact.
Showcasing three distinct and innovative methods, Scraps details the processes of each artist and how they not only turn trash to couture, but how they are filling a need in our ever eco-conscious society.
Environmentally and technologically innovative, this exhibit is also inspiring to anyone who has struggled to find a use for that itty-bitty slice of beloved fabric that just can’t be thrown away. You have been officially warned, this exhibit may make you keep every last piece of fabric you own!
Using the discarded cut off selvedge edges of mass produced woven textiles, designer Luisa Ceves embeds them in polyurethane creating visually stunning floating fabric for handbags.
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- Reiko Sudo saw the waste being created at Japanese silk mills. The inner portion of the cocoon becomes stuck and tangled on the carrier rod. Traditionally, thrown away, the silk is cut and soaked in water, and can be used to created sandals, like the ones on the left.
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- Los Angeles based Christina Kim creates fabulous garments out of discarded saris. She cuts out her garments from saris or yardage…
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- ..patches remaining fabric and cuts out another garment until every piece has been used.
Even the smallest piece is used – An amulet created from the tiniest scraps.
1. Wallander, Mattias . “Why Textile Waste Should Be Banned from Landfills.” Triple Pundit, Triple Pundit, 2 Jan. 2012, www.triplepundit.com/2012/01/textile-waste-be-banned-landfills
