What exactly is Deconstruction - Reconstruction?

Welcome to Deconstruction-Reconstruction! We are a group of art students hailing from various areas of study including fashion, fibers, and metals at Virginia Commonwealth University. We are researching recycling fibers as a response to the large amount of muslin scraps wasted each day in the fashion design department. Throughout our project, we will be collecting muslin scraps from the design studios in recycling bins, keeping track of how much is wasted, in hopes of creating a continuing fabric recycling program. During our research, we will be meeting with designers working with eco-friendly or recycled materials. We will also use the scraps in combination with found and recycled metals to create one of a kind garments and accessories in order to reuse the wasted scraps. These pieces will be featured in a final show in May 2008.

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Natalie Chanin!




Above is a photo of me with Natalie Chanin at VCU. The second photo is an example of the work of her company, Alabama Chanin. Last night, I was very fortunate to be able to attend a lecture by Natalie Chanin of Alabama Chanin. I previously mentioned her in an entry a while back, and I am very glad I got to meet her. The work her company puts out is AMAZING! If you haven't visited the website yet - DO IT! (It's on our link list...) The garments and home products are limited edition and all hand-sewn - constructed and embellished. They use various surface design techniques such as applique, reverse applique, and beading. This is why they sell at a "couture" price point! She mentioned that this is one reason to buy their book Alabama Stitch Book - you too can learn how to do all of the techniques from the book and create your own one-of-a-kind piece! I totally went and bought it today, and I already have ideas to make a t-shirt to wear for roller derby. I think it will be very fitting with my derby name - Psycho Seamstress. There are currently thirty-some women employed by Alabama Chanin who do all the sewing. They range in age from about 18-86. I found this very interesting and empowering that women of all ages produce this work. Natalie also suggested that we all read The Long Tail - I have yet to pick up a copy, but I plan to soon. I read a little about it at http://www.thelongtail.com. When asked about how the stitching holds up after wear, she explained that the hand sewing actually makes it more durable than garments produced in mass, but what she really went on a rant about - which is a pet pieve of hers - is the quality of thread. The quality of thread as a whole is poor, and this goes back to the idea of planned obselescence. If you go back to an earlier entry you can watch the Story of Stuff which explains this in an interesting way (Natalie actually mentioned watching this as well) People really do make stuff to break so that you have to go and buy a new one every so often. I do not understand how people can consciously do this, but I guess people will do anything to make extra bucks. Alabama Chanin truly is an inspiration to what we are doing and what we strive to do. We hope to make Deconstruction-Reconstruction a continuing process this summer - we are thinking about doing some workshops and working with kids to teach them about the importance of recycling and being creative and resourceful.
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