Kimono talk

I recently went to a talk about kimonos at the National Museum of Scotland, given by sustainability expert Lynn Wilson. She explored how we can take inspiration from the kimono to create alternative fashion options that are sustainable. She looked at the idea of loving our clothes and keeping them for longer, the circular economy, and how wasteful clothing production can be.

Some things I hadn't thought of before were the fact that clothing donated to charity and taken to other countries can disrupt their local clothing markets, and that there is a lot of hidden waste in the garment production industry such as samples and surplus when cutting patterns out.

I'd thought about the fact we need to buy less clothing, but I hadn't thought about how the design practices need to change too. Making a kimono produces less than 2% waste, so can we design patterns that are zero waste? Yes, but unfortunately the first zero waste magazine pattern was cancelled at the last minute! Designers also need to look at producing items that are practical and comfortable, and that can work for us when our bodies go through changes. Make things that people really need and will wear!

We also need to play our part by repairing our clothing - why would only 13% of people sew a button back on when over 70% know how to do so! We can also look at ideas like valuing tradition in our clothing rather than following fashions, only buying what we need, and renting clothing.

The only thing that would have made the talk better would have been if there was a fashion show of kimonos and some of the other clothing mentioned!