ARTIST STATEMENT
Kayla Kozak
The Purpose
"Making the Most of It" was conceived to showcase the potential for old or thrifted clothing to be redesigned, with the intent to discourage the purchasing of new garments and the subsequent support of an ethically corrupt industry.
The Audience
This project specifically targets those who are consuming fast fashion and contributing to the growth of the industry. Similarly, this capstone will appeal to those who frequent thrift store and who are looking for a way to make pre-owned clothes their own. Finally, this project seeks to inspire those who need to, or are able to, make masks, whether for themselves or for donation, hopefully by using old clothing and lessening textile waste in the process.
History and Distinction
The environmental and humanitarian crises became especially detrimental in the 2010’s, as the fast fashion industry began to boom in an age of trend-centric, disposable fashion. This includes the negligence and mistreatment of garment works in Bangladesh (Deadly Secrets, 2012) and an industry-wide carbon emission that is larger than the combined pollution of both international air travel and maritime shipping (McFall-Johnsen, 2019). The history and research surrounding these issues of environmental justice are central to the message of “Making the Most of It.”
Approach
I had known from very early on in the Capstone process that I wanted to incorporate the sewing and design skills from my main hobby, cosplay, as I outlined in the Background page of this website. The initial goal was to create a completely recycled outfit consisting of a shirt, pair of pants, belt and jacket. This “upcycled” outfit was designed with the hopes of demonstrating used clothing’s potential, and inspiring people to choose to redesign clothes they would otherwise throwaway, or to buy secondhand rather than new.
Following the announcement of a global pandemic, however, the project took on new meaning: To demonstrate how reusing old clothes can not only help protect the environment and exploited populations, but how they can be used to protect those at higher risk of contracting COVID-19. This includes the creation of a video tutorial providing instructions of how unwanted t-shirts can be transformed into masks, both for personal protection and hospital donation.
Impact
What has remained constant throughout this project and its various iterations is the desire to create a positive change through the mediums of design and sewing, a change that will, hopefully, generate empathy and inspire creativity in both good times and bad by "Making the Most of It."
References
Claeson, B. (2012). Deadly Secrets. Deadly Secrets. International Labor Rights Forum. Retrieved from https://laborrights.org/sites/default/files/publications-and-resources/DeadlySecrets.pdf
McFall-Johnsen, Morgan (2019). “The Fashion Industry Emits More Carbon than International Flights and Maritime Shipping Combined. Here Are the Biggest Ways It Impacts the Planet.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 21 Oct. 2019, www.businessinsider.com/fast-fashion-environmental-impact-pollution-emissions-waste-water-2019-10.