Teachers’ Resource:

FASHIONED FROM NATURE

Supported by the European Confederation
of Flax and Hemp – CELC
Additional support from G*Raw
Cape, Auguste Champot, Paris,

21 APRIL 2018 – 27 JANUARY 2019

about 1895.
Artificially curled rooster and
pheasant feathers stitched to
cotton fabric, lined with silk satin. Key Stages 3 – 5: Art & Design and Design & Technology
FASHIONED FROM NATURE
Teachers’ Resource: Key Stages 3–5: Art & Design and Design & Technology

Materialising Industry
Introduction In the 17th and 18th centuries, clothing was sewn by hand
using fabrics created from natural materials. Derived from
This resource explores some of the key objects and themes plants and animals, silk, wool, flax and cotton were the most
from the exhibition to support teaching and learning across important fibres. By 1800, rising incomes meant that more
KS 3–5: Art & Design and D&T. It aims to interrogate how people than ever before could afford small fashionable
clothing production has changed over time, and the luxuries. It was an age of great technical advancement and
challenges faced by us all today – to create and buy clothes scientific discovery, and new inventions led to the
that are beautiful as well as socially and environmentally mechanisation of the textile industry.
responsible, and to value our clothes more.
Poison and Pollution
Fashioned from Nature explores the relationship between
During the 19th century, the British population tripled in size,
fashion and nature from 1600 to the present day. The
rising to 37 million in 1901. The growing scale of the clothing
exhibition shows the inspiration fashion draws from nature,
industry and its increasing dependence on chemicals and coal
but also highlights the harmful effects of the increasing scale
for energy contributed to high levels of air, water and waste
of the clothing industry on the natural environment. It asks
pollution. The environmental impact was enormous.
two key questions:

– How can we design a more sustainable fashion industry?

Conscious Catwalk; Stylish Protest
– What can we learn from the past? The environmental movement as we know it today took
shape in the 1970s. Its concerns were not new, but they
Choose carefully: look good. Wear wisely: feel good. became part of the political agenda at a national and
Recycle: be generous. international level. Many environmentally-minded fashion
designers use their clothes as a platform to make their
concerns heard and bring about change through their
designs.
Pre-visit activities
Ready-to-Wear Recycling
Before visiting, research some of the fibres and
Around 300,000 tonnes of clothing are discarded to landfill
manufacturing techniques that are used to produce clothing.
in the UK each year. The need to repair and recycle our
Ask students to examine their own clothes and identify
clothes has become critical. A growing number of designers
where they are made and from which fabrics. Encourage
are championing ethical production and endeavouring to
them to collate a selection of care labels (displaying the % mix
use materials otherwise destined for landfill to create
of materials) and magazine cut-outs of garments that use a
garments.
range of fabrics for reference. Discuss which of these are
synthetic or natural materials.
Threading Innovation
You may also wish to visit some local shops and identify ethical The clothing industry is one of the top five polluters in the
companies and production on the highstreet. Discuss brands world. This has led many fashion companies to seek a more
and campaigns in the media that promote green fashion and ethical stance on design, sourcing and production.
thoughtful consumption. Businesses and labs are now exploring materials and
processes with designers to meet the current challenges
and work together to reduce the industry’s negative impact.

The museum visit

Use this resource to introduce the key themes and ideas

explored in the exhibition and get ideas for discussion Find out more
points and activities which can be developed further into
project work back at school. Historical objects, like the cape shown on the front cover,
often inspire contemporary design, despite growing
Natural Inspiration campaigns against the use of natural materials like feathers.
The beauty and diversity of the natural world has been a rich The innovative fashion designer, Alexander McQueen, was
source of inspiration for textile design for centuries. The deeply influenced by nature, both thematically and in his
circulation of illustrated books in Renaissance Europe (about use of traditional and high-tech materials. Visit the National
1300–1600) provided a great variety of images of nature Art Library to view the Alexander McQueen resource and
that could be copied. Most of the flora and fauna were real, explore a selection of the books he used as inspiration for his
though some existed only in myth. collections: vam.ac.uk/articles/mcqueens-research-library
 FASHIONED FROM NATURE
Teachers’ Resource:
Key Stages 3–5: Art & Design
and Design & Technology

Waistcoat, 1780–89, France.

© Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Natural Inspiration
In the 17th century, a new wave of books offered a closer
observation of the natural world. They were part of a more
systematic attempt to classify and order nature. Study like
this was encouraged by colonial expansion and travel, which
introduced European explorers to species they were eager to
record. In Britain, by about 1750, books on natural history were
said to sell better than any others. Surviving garments and
textile designs confirm this fascination with nature.

Many of the flowers, fruits and insects embroidered on early

17th-century garments and accessories are identifiable,
although their colours are often fanciful. In the case of this
waistcoat (pictured), the design includes carnations, pansies,
strawberries and pea pods. Some motifs found in the
garments are padded or worked in detached buttonhole
stitch to create three-dimensional effects. The imagery
probably derives from patterns designed for embroidery or
books on natural history.

Find out more:

Discover another garment in the exhibition with a floral
pattern, made from British cotton and lined in linen and
baleen (whalebone). Located on the ground floor opposite the
waistcoat, it is block-printed with trails of flowers. It can also
be viewed in the V&A’s ‘search the collections’ online:
collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O359193/gown-unknown/

Given by the late Cecily FitzHerbert, through Dr Joan

FitzHerbert, it was made in 1780–85 and altered in 1785–96 to
give it a more fashionable appearance. Garments from this
period often show signs of updating and repair, as clothing
was valued and not disposed of as readily as today.

Activity:
Find inspiration in nature, whether through interesting books
or by exploring your local environment. Make studies in your
sketchbook of the images and objects that interest you. Play
with scale and placement on the page, identifying recurring
themes, colour or shapes.

Experiment with the natural forms to create more abstract

imagery or repeat a shape multiple times to make patterns
that could be used as a textile print.

Can you think of other designers that use nature in their

collections? Explore Pinterest for examples, using tags like
‘fashion and textiles’,‘nature’ and ‘repeated print’. You may
want to collect a selection of the images that inspire you on a
new board for reference.
 FASHIONED FROM NATURE
Teachers’ Resource:
Key Stages 3–5: Art & Design
and Design & Technology

Mantua, 1760s, France.

© Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Materialising Industry
Raw materials were sourced and processed in Europe, but as
international trade spread throughout the 1800s and
consumer demand grew, Britain imported increasing
quantities of unprocessed and finished goods from Asia,
Africa and the Americas.

The raw materials for this extravagant ‘mantua’ (pictured)

came from around the globe. They include raw silk from Italy,
Spain and the Middle East; flax grown in northern Europe;
and precious metals, probably from the Potosí mines in
present-day Bolivia, which were under Spanish control from
the 1500s. The ermine fur was imported from North America
or Russia. The silk was most likely woven in Lyon in the 1760s.

A London dressmaker used it to make this garment for a

member of the British social or political elite to attend royal
events at court. Silk is lustrous, strong, light, warm and gentle
on the skin. It absorbs dye well and, depending on the quality
of the thread and complexity of the weave, can create fabrics
of extraordinarily varied textures and visual effects.

Find out more:

Look up the organisation Fashion Revolution. In their ‘Fashion
Transparency Index’, they rank fashion retailers every year
‘according to how much information they disclose about
their suppliers, supply chain policies and practices, and social
and environmental impact’. Find out more about this here:
fashionrevolution.org/faqs-fashion-transparency-
index-2017/

Activity:
Have you ever thought about the environmental impact of
your clothes? Pick a garment in your own wardrobe and see if
you can trace the manufacturing company, fabric production,
processes and costs required to make that piece of clothing.
Discuss with your classmates to hear what others think.
You can put your opinions and thoughts into action via
the Fashion Revolution website:
fashionrevolution.org/about/get-involved/
From action kits to writing a postcard to policy makers, you
can make your voice heard!
 FASHIONED FROM NATURE
Teachers’ Resource:
Key Stages 3–5: Art & Design
and Design & Technology

Man’s cotton shirt and cotton neckerchief

(worn as a cravat), Britain, 1843
Given by Mr Alasdair Peebles and
Miss B. Hinton respectively.
Poison and Pollution
In the 19th century, the textile industries in Britain became
mechanised and steam power increased. These changes
accelerated production and led to reduced prices. The
country’s self-sufficiency in coal, its dominance of global
maritime trade and the abundance of natural materials
drawn from across the British Empire all contributed to a
boom in British textiles.

Ready-made clothes, particularly for men, began to be made

in bulk. New technologies, such as synthetic dyes, also made
fashionable clothes affordable to more people. The rise of
department stores, sophisticated advertising and greater
media coverage of fashion encouraged people to buy clothes.

However, this large-scale cotton manufacturing had a

damaging impact on the environment. Around Manchester,
where 90% of cotton manufacturing in Britain was based
by 1835, air and water pollution created significant
environmental and social problems. Similarly, at the St Rollox
works near Glasgow, the production of powder for bleaching
cotton released hydrogen chloride. The pungent fumes from
this chemical rose up and combined with moisture to create
acid rain.

Find out more:

Honest By is the first 100% transparent fashion brand, listing
every process, cost and supplier they use in a bid to give the
customer full disclosure of their manufacturing process. One
of their outfits (by Bruno Pieters) is on display in the
exhibition. You can find out more about them on their
website: honestby.com

Activity:
Design a contemporary linen or cotton garment that could be
worn under other pieces to reduce the need for washing
other clothes so frequently. Do you think this would be a
worthwhile campaign in today’s culture? How might a
message like that be communicated?

Watch this video about the clothing company Pulp It:

youtube.com/watch?v=45966sBSMv0 For a modern, cleaner
approach to clothing manufacture, Pulp It are experimenting
with a new type of recycled paper to make garments that can
be worn four or five times and then recycled with newspapers
or sent for commercial composting. Does this seem like a
more attractive option? Or might it fuel fast-fashion
mentalities in a society that already struggles with over-
consumption?
 FASHIONED FROM NATURE
Teachers’ Resource:
Key Stages 3–5: Art & Design
and Design & Technology

MEND MORE Jumper, Bridget Harvey,

London, 2015. Found acrylic jumper,
with appliquéd hand-dyed cotton and
cotton thread. Lent by the designer.
Conscious Catwalk;
Stylish Protest
As an industry, fashion is a major contributor to the
destruction and damage of the natural world, from air
pollution emitting from factories to surplus waste dumped in
oceans and landfill. Environmentally sustainable fashion has
become a hot topic of conversation and a motivation for more
thoughtful design and consumption across society.

The 1970s saw a major awakening in environmental

awareness around the world. The first government
departments for the environment were established, the
United Nations held the first major conference on
international environmental issues, and the first Earth Day
took place in the USA – an annual global event which is now
celebrated in over 100 countries. Since the 1980s, designers
such as Katharine Hamnett and Vivienne Westwood, and
pressure groups like PETA, Greenpeace and Fashion
Revolution, have targeted the damaging practices of the
fashion industry. They have heightened awareness of the
negative consequences of our consumer society.

‘Jumpers provide me with a site for direct actions’, says artist

and maker Bridget Harvey. ‘Their body-like forms [can be]
recast as messengers to communicate discourses of repair,
protest and activism. MEND MORE Jumper was initially made
as a placard for the Climate March 2015 and has since been an
aid for dialogue and social engagement.’

Find out more:

Vivienne Westwood’s designs are a platform for her
environmental activism. She recruits prominent figures to
pose in her ‘Save the Arctic’ t-shirts and gives placards to the
models in her catwalk shows. In the exhibition, watch the film
of Westwood where she speaks about her passion for the
environment. She urges consumers to ‘buy less, choose well,
make it last’.

Activity:
Campaign groups use slogan t-shirts to draw attention to
their aims and to fundraise. For the wearer, they are an
effective way of expressing their commitment to a cause.

Design a slogan to go on a t-shirt. You might want to use

typography or imagery, or both. If you have an old t-shirt, you
could transfer your design onto it using a fabric pen or cutting
and sewing other bits of old fabric. Upload your designs to
Instagram, using the hashtags: #fashionedfromnature
#vandamuseum
 FASHIONED FROM NATURE
Teachers’ Resource:
Key Stages 3–5: Art & Design
and Design & Technology

Dress, bag and hat,

Christopher Raeburn (born 1982),
Britain, 2017. Original 1950s silk escape maps.
‘Parachute Anorak’,
Christopher Raeburn (born 1982), Britain, 2017.
Parachute nylon.
‘Zarya Solo’ sandals,
Clarks x Christopher Raeburn,
Portugal, 2017. Leather,
ethylene-vinyl acetate and polyester.
Lent by the designer
Ready-to-Wear Recycling
By re-purposing materials in imaginative ways, fashion can be
a powerful vehicle for reducing waste. For example, the Italian
food industry produces around 700,000 tonnes of citrus fruit
skins every year which go to agricultural waste. In 2017,
Salvatore Ferragamo launched a collection of garments made
of ‘Orange Fiber’, a sustainable and innovative fabric derived
from citrus juice by-products to alleviate this waste.

Similarly, Christopher Raeburn, a pioneer of upcycling, is

known for his forward-thinking approach. This dress, hat and
bag (pictured) are reworked from 1950s escape maps, first
manufactured during the Second World War for Royal Air
Force pilots if they became stranded in enemy territory. Easy
to hide, the silk maps were a more durable alternative to
paper. The anorak is constructed from surplus military
parachutes, and the sandals, produced in collaboration with
Clarks, are made from vegetable-tanned leather.

Find out more:

Recently there’s been a huge drive to reduce and re-use
plastic waste, which has been polluting and severely
damaging our oceans. For a week, collect packaging and
paper that you would have ordinarily thrown away. Does the
amount surprise you? What small changes could you make
to reduce this?

Activity:
Use the plastic waste you’ve collected to create 3D sculptures.
Play with large and small-scale models, photographing the
process with your phone as you go. If you have a printer, print
out the photographs and then cut them out and manipulate
them into garments to stick on magazine cut-outs of people.
Create a line-up of six figures using this fast-fashion
technique.
 FASHIONED FROM NATURE
Teachers’ Resource:
Key Stages 3–5: Art & Design
and Design & Technology

‘Rootbound # 2’ dress,
Diana Scherer, 2017, the Netherlands
© Diana Scherer. Lent by the artist
Threading Innovation
Today the fashion industry is dominated by the ‘fast fashion’
model. The quick turnaround of clothing trends responds to
consumer demand with ever-more efficient production and
supply chains. This business model has in turn ramped up the
industry’s environmental impact. Intensifying factors include
free-trade agreements that enable companies to outsource
manufacturing to low-wage economies, and the growth of
large new consumer groups across the world. E-commerce
companies and the spread of one-click internet shopping
have also sped up the rate of commercial exchange.

Another consequence of fast fashion is the increased

regularity of cleaning clothes. With each wash, synthetic
clothing sheds tiny fibres that pollute rivers and oceans.
These microfibres are ingested by fish and other organisms,
causing gastrointestinal infections and reproductive
problems. There is evidence of these fibres being present in
the fish we eat.

In a bid for a different approach, visual artist Diana Scherer

trains the roots of plants to grow in intricate structures,
creating a 3D textile. When the roots are fully grown, she
removes them from the soil and cuts off the plant stems. The
pieces produced are not yet suitable to be worn, but hint at a
potential, more sustainable future in which we grow our own
fashion in the ground, reducing the volume of synthetic fibres
that seep into the ocean.

Find out more:

Look up the textile designer and researcher Alice Potts:
projects.alicepotts.com/ Potts is experimenting with waste
products from human bodies and pushing the convergence of
science, technology and design to new and exciting heights.
Her practice explores the opportunities found in sweat, a
natural waste product that, through lab experiments, has led
to some extraordinary designs. Could this offer new solutions
to sustainable ways of creating materials for clothing the
human body in the future? Or is this a step too far? Do you
think Alice’s outcomes are disgusting or beautiful?

Activity:
With your classmates, think about some other ways scientists
and designers could work together to create fashion design.
What would you create using a combination of natural
materials or waste products with technology if there were no
limits? To see more short films about these ‘Future Fabrics’,
visit: vam.ac.uk/FashionedfromNature

vam.ac.uk/learn