Final Major Project Proposal Overview

I intend to explore ‘Veganism’ and ‘Climate Change’ via firm concentration on the impact of the livestock industry on our planet, as well as the ethics behind our treatment of the animals we use for food.  As a vegan and environmentalist, I intend to expose the realities and dangers of our destruction of other species and of this planet, through the medium of design. This could, at this stage, come to fruition in performance art, 3D design or film, though I predict, as a future BA Fashion Design student, I will create a collection to explore this concept.  I will encourage debate through my work and discuss the conflict between empathy towards animals and remaining green- acknowledging that many alternatives to natural fibres, hides, skins and furs are synthetic and harmful to our finite fossil resources. Within this exploration of fabrication I intend also to challenge our view of luxury and how we perceive it within western and global society. I will ask why the skin or flesh of another creature is considered desirable in our world.  Extensive research into alternative materials, with the same amount of sensory appeal as the real thing, will inform much of my project and highlight how far we have come with modern fabrication. I will invest a significant amount of time exploring my own textile creation within this project- this may involve knitting, gluing, bonding etc. my own alternatives or even growing my own substrates as leather substitutes.   I suspect that much of my concept-exploration will have sinister undertones, as I feel passionate and angry about humans’ treatment of animals as well as the catastrophic impact our consumptions have on the planet. I hope this darkness will be interesting and occasionally confrontational, causing my audience to self-analyse and reconsider their actions towards this planet and the creatures on it.  I am adamant my project will not fall into the aesthetic of recycled trash nor neutral ‘hippy-linen’ and that this avoidance of the perceived style of eco/animal-friendly clothes will further encourage a reconsideration of daily consumption within fashion. Initial concept boarding- Author's own Initial concept boarding- Author's own