Natalia Palacios [email protected]

The Project Research Paper

Men’s are considered to be one of the oldest recorded garments in the history of dress. It is a piece that has transcended age, race, class and gender and is part of the closets of a great percentage of the world’s population, in either of its variations. It often symbolizes elegance and refinement, independent of the context it is used in. Within the passage of time the garment has assumed different meanings and roles.

The shirt started off as underwear for men or as a night gown in its simplest form; it had no cuffs and no . It was always put on overhead as opposed to the common -down shirt that we are familiar with today. As it began to develop in the middle ages one could chose between having a fixed or detachable collar. They were usually made of and sometimes . By the 18th century the shirt stopped being worn as underwear, the collars began to grow and were decorated with embroidery and lace.

Factories didn’t exist at this time which enabled ‘the golden days of tailoring’ when men would get their shirts made by tailors and ‘common men’ wore shirts made by their wives. For long the design of the shirt did not evolve and was kept simple. It was at the end of WW1 that the shirt went through a major transformation. Only at that time did the buttoned shirt we are used to today become popular. In the 1930’s the shirt with fixed collar revived and stayed with us since then. It started to be tailored more to the shape of the body and more colorful designs began to be used. The and short sleeved Natalia Palacios [email protected] shirt followed, becoming part of high fashion. In the 1960’s the chest was introduced as a result of the use of the vest becoming uncommon. 1

Nowadays shirts are unisex varying in fitting and sizing when it comes to distinguishing between the sexes, even though I myself choose to wear men’s shirts over women’s shirts. The styles and design variations are endless, collars come in different cuts and sizes and are very sensitive to fashion trends. A huge variety of fabric is available for these and they can be found in various qualities in virtually any store today. However, a tailor made shirt is still considered the finest shirt that one could acquire.

It is interesting to look at such a prominent garment in the history of fashion, seeing it’s development not only of shape but also of purpose, design and conceptuality.

We are currently at a time where developments and different concepts are constantly being created within the fashion world, combining other fields into the dress field. I am particularly interested in the creation of concepts and materials that have a sustainable or recycled approach to them such as the ones created by Alyce Santoro and Gary

Harvey, both designers repurposing different materials in order to create something new.

Alyce Santoro has created a particularly interesting material that not only functions sustainably but also brings in the field of music into dress. She developed what is known as sonic fabric. She was compelled to create a fabric that carried sonic potential inspired off of tibetan prayer flags. Having been part of the music industry herself she found this potential in recording tapes. She began knitting it, resulting in a

1 "About the Shirt and How It Turned out as It Is Today," About the Shirt and How It Turned out as It Is Today, https://www.tailorstore.com/history-of-bespoke-shirts. Natalia Palacios [email protected]

‘loose and loopy texture’ and then moved on to weave the tape on a loom using as the warp; this resulted in a ‘tightly woven, highly functional material’. What she found is that the fabric maintains its magnetic properties and when a tape head is dragged along the surface it emits sound. However, what I find particularly interesting is the sustainability of what she is creating not only by recycling recording tapes which are no longer in common use today but also by creating her fabric in a small family run mill and by seeking to work with different communities of weavers.2

Gary Harvey has a more direct approach to the repurposing of materials. He uses material found at secondhand clothing shops to avoid waste, seeking to change people’s perception of said materials and create conscious fashion. He has made garments entirely out of repurposed denim, laundry bags, between others, raising awareness of the limited natural resources and environmental issues we are as well as generating respect for the craftsmanship in recycling and up-cycling. What I was attracted towards in his work was the idea that he posed that so much clothing is disposed of due to the movement of fashion trends without taking into consideration the circulation of trends and the ability to extend the life of a garment by transforming it into something else. 3

We are currently facing an environmental crisis that is more preoccupying than ever, especially given the fact that human creations and our technological advancements throughout the last century are the great cause of said crisis. If we truly take this into consideration we must be able to comprehend that just as we are the ones

2 Alyce Santoro, “About," Sonic Fabric: About, http://www.sonicfabric.com/about.html.

3 Kathreen Ricketson, "Gary Harvey: Couture Fashion with a Conscience,” TreeHugger, http:// www.treehugger.com/sustainable-fashion/gary-harvey-couture-fashion-with-a-conscience.html. Natalia Palacios [email protected] responsible for this crisis only our actions can revert the current state we are in or at least improve it. When we look into the fashion industry’s responsibility within this crisis we also see how inherently tied with a social crisis it is. Globalization has developed a need for fast fashion due to the high levels of consumerism and this hasn’t only impacted the environment through irresponsible manufacturing but also our global social interactions. As production was moved into factories, artisans and traditional, small businesses lost credit and feasibility. It is here where it is important to highlight the work of designers such as Gary Harvey and Alyce Santoro because they are creating through a medium of sustainability. By reusing materials they are finding a solution to the fact that there is “no away” with the waste we generate.

There are other designers and brands who are designing with sustainability in mind by using manufacturing processes that strip away from the polluting practices that are used in industrial manufacturing, or by pairing up with small businesses or textile communities and giving them the ability to enter the mainstream consuming market.

Fortunately these crafts are beginning to be valued within the market and are seen as

finer than those provided by industrially manufactured brands. This makes me believe that we are moving towards a brighter, more sustainable future within the fashion industry and keeps me positive and curiously open-minded towards my future as a designer. The opportunities and alternatives for creation are growing and bringing with them new approaches that integrate the practice of fashion into other areas of practice recognizing the importance of interdisciplinary conversations when it comes to advancement in any field. Natalia Palacios [email protected]

Bibliography:

"About the Shirt and How It Turned out as It Is Today.” About the Shirt and How It

Turned out as It Is Today. Accessed October 15, 2016. https://www.tailorstore.com/ history-of-bespoke-shirts.

Santoro, Alyce. "About." Sonic Fabric: About. Accessed October 15, 2016. http:// www.sonicfabric.com/about.html.

Ricketson, Kathreen. "Gary Harvey: Couture Fashion with a Conscience."

TreeHugger. Accessed October 15, 2016. http://www.treehugger.com/sustainable- fashion/gary-harvey-couture-fashion-with-a-conscience.html.