Fashion isn’t just about the what you see on the catwalk or find on the high street. In Bristol we are lucky enough to be surrounded by a wealth of independent shops, designers and organisations who are committed to recycling, reusing and restoring garments.
Charity shops and vintage boutiques sit side by side and community based projects are around every corner working to make a better, more sustainable city for us to enjoy. The CREATE Centre is one such venue – an ‘environment centre’ that runs workshops, hosts exhibitions and conferences and focuses on promoting green living to its visitors.
Starting today and running until the end of March, CREATE are running a programme dedicated to ethical fashion and the future of fashion. Fashion Footprints: Sustainable Approaches aims to unravel the complex world of fashion and its ecological and social impact – from the cotton fields to your favourite pair of jeans.
The exhibition has been created by the Centre for Contemporary Art and the Natural World and curated by MA students from the London College of Fashion, and is touring the nation to educate consumers and industry insiders alike. As well as an exhibition there will also be a customising events, a Fairtrade fashion show and The Big Swish, a clothes swap organised by Oxfam.
Located near Spike Island, the centre isn’t the first place you would think to go for your fashion fix but this exciting programme will make it worth the visit. If you can’t get there during on a weekday then be sure to stop by on a Saturday morning before you hit the shops – what you learn might surprise you. I’ll be checking this exhibition out and reporting back but if you get the chance to visit this week let me know what you think…
Fashion Footprints: Sustainable Approaches runs until 31st March at the CREATE Centre, for more information including opening times and a full listing of events check out their website.