Image by Katie Baggs, LCC student
On Fashion Revolution Day, students from across UAL occupied Oxford Street to ask shoppers to think about who it is that makes our clothes.
LCF News spoke with Alice Bodgener, currently studying the FdA Designer Pattern Cutter course (now BA Fashion Pattern Cutting), who helped found the student society Evolving Fashion UAL and who has been co-leading their campaign to call for a more transparent and ethical fashion industry.
Alice told us about her fashion philosophy…
“I believe that fashion can be a wonderfully creative tool for self-expression, both for the designer and the wearer – it can liberate, educate and innovate, but this should never, in my opinion, come at the cost of people or the planet.”
LCF News: What is Fashion Revolution Day all about?
Alice: “Fashion Revolution Day is a global event that urges us all to question where and who made our clothes. It was established by sustainable pioneers Carry Somers and Orsola de Castro in reaction to the devastatingly tragic Rana Plaza factory collapse, where 1134 workers lost their lives, and countless more were injured. Many of the brands whose garments were being made in the Rana Plaza building claimed ignorance as a defence, but this is precisely the problem; too many brands are unaware of where and how their clothes are made. FRD seeks to ask all brands ‘Who made your clothes?’ demanding a move towards traceable, transparent supply chain.”
Tell us more about your new society, Evolving Fashion UAL…
“Evolving Fashion is a society that has been established for students across UAL to come together to discuss how we, as the next generation, can change the fashion industry. Our motto is Sustainability, Ethics, Innovation. As well as campaigning for Fashion Revolution Day, we’ve got some events coming up in May with some very exciting speakers – Watch this space!”
Asking ppl who made their clothes, encouraging curiosity, students of @LCFLondon & UAL take to the streets #insideout pic.twitter.com/cA4leVhwzb
— CSF (@sustfash) April 24, 2014
Students from across all colleges gathered at Oxford Circus to raise awareness about the Fashion Revolution Day and engage with shoppers. They then made their way to Carnaby Street where they joined Pants for Poverty in a runway show. Wearing their clothes inside out and sporting giant clothing labels, they drew attention to the important origins of what we wear.
The students join the many hundreds of people online who tweeted and photographed their clothes inside out and asked brands, ‘Who made my clothes?’.