About this Event
This facsinating talk with Hillary is open to all but may be of specific value to students taking textiles subjects in schools, colleges and uni.
It was in 1853 that Levi Strauss with money he had made from the gold rush opened his goods store in San Fransisco establishing at the same time the first denim jeans brand. However 'jean' and 'denim' have much longer histories which date back as far as the 16th century.
Denim was the favoured workwear of Americans chosen for its hard-wearing qualities. It was only a few years until the familiar studs were added to the zips and corners of pockets which further distinguished their pedigree as a solid staple of the American wardrobe. In 1914 they first appeared in film and 1930 in Vogue. They were introduced to Europe during WW2 and gained a reputation during the sixties through the likes of James Dean and Marlon Brando as the garb of bad boys, resulting in them being banned in many American schools.
The rise and rise of denim can hardly be questioned and its movement from an item of uniform workwear to a desired high fashiongarment and the many iterations of design it has gone through from flares, skinny, girlfriend, hip hop, low rise, bumster and many more. Plus of course the most recent technical innovations which relate to elastine, multicoloured and lightweight denim.
But while innovation leads to wonderful things the cost of denim production is immense and the resulting disposal as a consequence of increased consumption, in part due to a shifting in the quality of product, who doesn't find themselves in possession of several pairs of jeans they won't wear anymore. And what to do with them? So you want to upcycle your denim for summer?
In this talk Hilary McCool a costume designer, denim upcycler and milliner who has a no holds barred approach to denim will provide an introduction to her design practice. Everyone has a different perspective and denim lends itself to the versatile and unique and you might be inspired to create something for the summer or a special occasion, and it's environmentally good too.
How do you decide what you want, what works for you, how do you select denim, stretchy versus stiff, is a hole a hole or a design feature, what do you do with all the other stuff, belts, pockets, loops, sewing and care. After all you denim is upcycled, it already has had a hard life, you can't put it on a 3 hour wash cycle when your done and expect it to last forever, but the advantage is if a piece wears out you can always add another
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
The Hub, The Glades, Bromley, United Kingdom
GBP 0.00