the stitchery collective collection 2014

The stitchery collective collection is a collaboratively designed fashion collection. The collection is a thoughtful response to many of the challenges of contemporary fashion especially those to do with over-consumption and un-ethical production processes. But at the same time the collection embraces key ‘stitchyisms’ including a sense of fun and playfulness, nostalgia for a time when clothing had a little more integrity and fun digital girl culture.

Unlike standard fashion collections, which are really designed around an industry consumption model, we are re-designing the whole idea of a fashion collection. We have looked at the idea of collection from many different angles: For example most fashion design collections have little to do with ideas about what people really need. In our case we have tried to take on board an old-fashioned idea of a wardrobe, what one needs to have in order to be dressed for various occasions. We have also tried to re-dress some of the imbalances in contemporary fashion. For example while fashion is overpopulated with all sorts of underwear options it is still nearly impossible to find a beautiful slip.

We are also experimenting in this collection with various ways of disseminating our work. Keeping in line with out commitment to open-source material, some of our collection will be available on-line via our website as downloadable patterns. Other aspects of the collection will be available for sale on-line.

Ultimately the collection aims to encourage a thoughtful yet fun engagement with fashion.