Winchester School of Arts Student talks second-hand fashion
For Faye James, a final year fashion design student at Winchester School of Arts, nature is the ultimate source of inspiration. ‘I live by the sea, I find being at the beach really inspiring looking at the shapes of things such as waves, cliff shapes and rocks,’ she tells SATCoL. And it was, of course, nature that informed the design she created in collaboration with SATCoL for our latest fashion campaign.
The process for Faye was one informed by this love of all things natural and it’s this interest that inspires her love of conscious creation. ‘I hope that upcycling and different ways of being sustainable with clothes can be taught through school from an early age as I don’t believe it is spoken about enough and people need to be educated about the ongoing effects of what’s happening,’ Faye James says.
Tell us a bit about yourself…..
I’m a fashion design student studying at Southampton University. I’ll be starting my third and final year in September. I have loved designing since I was really young and I’ve always been drawn to ways in which I can express my creativity. I enjoy challenging my creativity and creating concepts and ideas on paper that I can then bring to life through my collections. I love the whole process of designing not just the finished outcomes. I love working on the photoshoots for my garments too, especially creating the visual representation of my ideas.
Faye James design upcycled from used curtains
2. What inspires your work? What are the references that inspire you when designing/conceiving collections?
I've always been inspired by nature and the different arrays of textures and shapes that can be found. It inspires my creativity to bring these shapes and forms into my own designs and collections by playing and manipulating the silhouettes. I also get inspired by art and how the use of colour can help to create the different moods I want to convey.
3. What’s the process usually like in terms of sourcing material for your collections?
I love visiting a lot of local charity shops and small fabric shops and looking through off-cuts or old remnants. My designing develops more when I get drawn to certain fabrics. I have tried in the past to use a lot of dead stock material and to find ways of manipulating it to create a different texture or dying it to create different colours. I love creating a new textile from something else.
4. How did the donations from SATCoL change this?
It showed me a new perspective in upcycling old garments to create new fabrics as I used old curtains to create my collection of coats. It has shown me a new insight into using upcycling as a creative process when designing, and this has also stopped me from throwing out old clothes and thinking about what could be made out of them.
Faye James design upcycled from used curtains
5. Was using second-hand textiles material something you wanted to do before you received the donations from SATCoL?
Yes, I have worked with second-hand textiles in the past, but I enjoyed this process even more as it has taught me techniques in upcycling that I would like to bring into my future collections.
6. How important is being conscious of waste when producing your designs?
When designing, it is extremely important to me to think about the waste produced. When it comes to pattern cutting, I’m trying to work on my layout plans to create zero waste or as little waste as possible. I can then save all my scrap fabric to use for new projects. I'm always trying to be conscious of the waste produced when designing and each time I’m trying to think of solutions to minimise it.
7. Creating a more sustainable fashion industry is what everybody’s hoping for - what are your personal hopes for the future of fashion?
My personal hope for the future of fashion is that the industry itself takes charge in the creation of a sustainable future. With designers accepting the current problems of global warming and what a huge impact the fashion industry has on it, companies must make it their main priority to create sustainable brands. Only then will we start to see a real change in the industry.