In my graduate collection, titled Sustainable womenswear collection Roza, I describe development and execution of this collection, which takes inspiration from experiences of living on the border between Gorizia and Nova Gorica. Alongside life by the border, the main source of inspiration are contrasts between humble, simple values of Slovene women and sophistication of glamourous Italian older ladies, as well as the differences of the two cities' aesthetics.
Throughout theoretical part of my thesis, I delved into the history of this region and mixing of the two nations' cultures. Firstly, I analysed the history of clothing and dress identity of the Italian nation, where I focused on one of the most recognizable pieces of Italian fashion, the fur coat. This was followed by researching the history of Slovenian textile industry and questioning about fashion identity of Slovenian women. As one of the focal elements of Slovenian dress culture, I put into the spotlight handcraft techniques, their importance throughout time and why they are being reborn and modernised nowadays. In conclusion of theoretical thesis, I described the position older women hold in the fashion industry, due to lack of their representation.
In the practical part of my thesis, I have presented sustainable approaches to design and execution of the collection. I started with designing textile experiments, which combine the aesthetics of the two cities. These served me as a base to form fashion silhouettes, reflecting the merge of Slovenian and Italian dress identities. The collection of five silhouettes is presented through collages and technical sketches, selection of materials, which was based on deadstock and leftovers from bankrupted textile companies, and colour palette reflecting the architecture of mentioned cities. Also depicted is development and use of different sustainable principles, as the progress of creating yarn and crochet items from stockings, the connection of different intermediate products and the use of deadstock yarn in a new manner. At the end, the collection is represented through editorial.
The finished product is a capsule collection, targeted towards older women, who despite their age still feel the desire to express themselves with clothing. The purpose, message and atmosphere of the collection is documented through the series of fashion photographs.
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