Alternative Social Stories

Consumerism and economic growth are naturalised within current ideas of fashion production and consumption but their dependency on ever increasing resource consumption is at odds with the finite nature of the planet; with the fact that the Earth, while abundant, has limits. Finding ways to create economic systems which develop qualitatively without increasing in quantitative scale - to increase value, satisfaction and potential without growing the resources consumed - is central to building a fashion system that recognises planetary resource limits and the core value of garments to human culture.   The craft of use uncovers an array of practices for resourceful, creative and satisfying experience of fashion, showcasing images and stories which offer a pragmatic and directly applicable set of actions to engage how we can create and experience fashion beyond growth. It shows how people are finding riches and abundance within the limits of the things they already have. It makes visible the skills that can change how people approach and use their garments. It offers designers an alternative way to approach their process, including how people experience and use clothes as a practice; and from which design spaces emerge around currently unacknowledged needs and potential of garments and to foster beneficial social practices surrounding clothing. 

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