Picking up the Pieces is an eight panelled top, made completely from scrap fabric from previous projects. Focusing on reducing the fashion industry’s input into landfill and waste, the collaged top is a zero waste design that uses the offcuts from the previous panel to make the next, ultimately being created from ‘waste’ without creating anymore waste itself. The title ‘Picking up the Pieces’ is a pun and hints to how by collecting and keeping offcuts and scraps of material, and reusing said waste into a new design, you not only create an aesthetic and unique design but also slowly reduce your own input to landfill and piece by piece help save the environment and earth.

This collection to the right by Viktor & Rolf, consisted of completely repurposed leftover clothing and materials which were torn, mixed up and woven by hand to create new voluminous shapes and textures which ultimately lead to new pieces based on their older designs. This collection very much inspired me and very closely relates to how I created my own design using leftovers and scraps and joining them together to make a whole new design.

Above are images showing just a little bit of the process of how each panel was created. Starting basically with little slithers of fabrics, and gradually joining on and overlapping other bits of fabric to form a whole shape. Below is a video to give you more insight in the development process.