CATHERINE
HEADRICK
DRESS FOR THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY (INDIGO DYED COTTON, 2020)
I designed this dress because I wanted to show that clothing can be beautiful, approachable, and created with the values of the circular economy.
I aimed to make my garment approachable - to show that fashion doesn’t have to be perfect or more complicated to embody circular values. In my career as a materials developer, I research innovative materials from labs and start-ups that sound like promising future solutions to help sustain a circular economy. I find often that these new materials are not yet ready to be scaled and used in production - they are too expensive, they require more funding, more testing, more time. I am optimistic about the future of these new materials, but I wanted to show something that can be made using easily attainable materials. I only used what I had on hand: my fabric, thread, and indigo dye kit were all leftover materials that had been sourced from value craft stores, and I found shell buttons in my mother’s jar of buttons. I used the Japanese shibori technique to dye my fabric, as the dye effect is beautiful and will not go "out of style".
MATERIALS:
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100% cotton fabric
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Natural indigo dye
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Cotton thread
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Oyster shell buttons
MATERIAL NOTES:
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To regenerate natural systems: I opted to avoid petrochemical-based materials and choose materials derived from bio-based sources. To take it a step further, it would have been even better to have more visibility into how the cotton material was farmed, but that information was not available to me at the time of purchase.
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To design out waste: I selected materials that have the ability to biodegrade at the end of product life.
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To design out waste: The fabric I used was leftover material from another project. I did not have much leftover waste fabric, but I kept any scraps to use for future projects.
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To design out waste: I used oyster shell buttons, which are a byproduct of the seafood or pearl industry.
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To design out pollution: I used natural indigo to dye my fabric, avoiding synthetic dyes that pollute water.
CONSTRUCTION NOTES:
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This garment was sewed on a Singer sewing machine.
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To keep products and materials in use: By choosing buttons instead of a zipper, I chose a closure method that can easily be repaired if need be, and keep the product in use.
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To keep products and materials in use: The accordion fold construction on the front of my dress provides some excess fabric that can be adjusted for fit through simple sewing. That means that over time if the wearer’s size changes, or if the dress is given to someone of a different size, the fit can be easily modified.