PhD thesis by Mila Burcikova
School of Art, Design and Architecture, University of Huddersfield, 2019
This research investigates emotional durability of clothing through the lens of a designer-maker ... more This research investigates emotional durability of clothing through the lens of a designer-maker practice. The current discourse on fashion futures urgently recognizes that a deeper understanding of the behavioural drivers behind long-term use of clothing is critical in order to move beyond symptom-based solutions to fashion and sustainability such as closed loop recycling and technological innovation. A considerable body of work exists on design strategies for emotional durability. However, empirical evidence that examines their relationship to users’ everyday experiences with clothing is missing.
I set to remedy this gap through my own designer-maker practice that investigated women’s routine relationships with the clothes in their wardrobes. Focusing specifically on what matters in everyday use, I examine the possible applications of emotionally durable design in fashion design and making. This approach challenges the imperative of disposability in fashion and foregrounds instead a long-term value-creation enabled through the continuous use of familiar clothes.
The thesis structure has three interrelated elements that outline the linear narrative of the research as well as the conceptual and methodological developments. The first part of the thesis outlines the global challenges in fashion production and consumption. The second part introduces and applies ethnographic methods to understanding the sensory wardrobe, and the third concluding stage includes the findings and practical application in the One Thing Collection. Conceptually, the thesis moves from comprehending the macro towards a practical application in the micro.
The methodology employs a combination of practical explorations through designer-maker practice with in-depth wardrobe conversations. Adopting methods from narrative enquiry and sensory ethnography, ten women aged between 29-69 were interviewed in their homes. Rich imagery of clothes in use and extended excerpts of wardrobe conversations are essential components of the thesis ethos, these became framed as individual portraits of each of the women. It is stressed that these portraits are significant to the research findings presented in the thesis; the portraits are presented in the Appendices as the nature of sensory ethnography results in details of visual and textual data beyond the confines of the thesis.
The findings show that designable characteristics of garments such as shape, style, fit, colour, material, details, or easy care are all significant in contributing to a garment’s emotional durability. However,
a truly long-lasting relationship with a piece of clothing results from a complex dynamic between its design, the mode of its acquisition, expectations, fluctuation of personal circumstances, and each woman’s perspective on the relationship between continuity and change. The key insights are articulated through the four themes identified in thematic cross-case analysis of the wardrobe conversations: (1) Enablers, (2) Sensory experiences, (3) Longing and Belonging, and lastly (4) Layering. Each theme is also interpreted through the process of making a corresponding everyday garment that captures the essence of the women’s narratives.
This research contributes to the current discourse on emotional durability in fashion design and making and provides new contextual data on user experience of clothing; [See Chapter 7.3 Contribution to knowledge summarized, p. 300]. The research demonstrates that fashion design for emotional durability requires an empathic approach that readily embraces the complexity of everyday life as an opportunity, rather than a hindrance to creative expression. These conclusions are also now embodied in my studio practice with future development of the One Thing Collection that resulted from this thesis.
Journal papers by Mila Burcikova
Fashion Practice The Journal of Design, Creative Process & the Fashion Industry , 2019
This position paper draws upon and expands the research presented in
the special issue of the jou... more This position paper draws upon and expands the research presented in
the special issue of the journal Utopian Studies ‘Utopia and Fashion’,
guest edited by the author. The issue examined the under-researched
relationship between fashion and utopia through the lens of Ruth
Levitas’ concept of utopia as method for exploring alternative scenarios
for the future. With reference to key lines of enquiry in ‘Utopia and
Fashion’, this paper demonstrates how utopian thinking can be a helpful
tool for examining some of the dilemmas and ongoing challenges in the
current discourse on fashion and sustainability. Focusing specifically on reducing fashion consumption, the paper builds on empirical evidence
provided by author’s current practice-based research on emotional durability of clothing. The metaphor of One Dress, a utopian vision of one garment for life, then helps to examine the possibilities as well as the boundaries of attempts to radically reduce the number of items in our wardrobes. The overarching argument here is that the inherent complexity of our relationship with fashion and clothing requires stronger activist agendas in both design thinking and user behaviour. To direct our actions to solutions that address the core issues of unsustainable consumption rather than its symptoms, we need a shift in focus from materials and product development to everyday experiences of people who wear clothes while facing an entangled world with numerous and often contradicting demands. This paper aims to further the discussion on the potential of utopian thinking to re-imagine and inspire better and more sustainable futures of fashion.
Special issue: Utopia and Fashion (Utopian Studies), 2017
The production of the special issue Utopia and Fashion, at a time when the future of our relation... more The production of the special issue Utopia and Fashion, at a time when the future of our relationship with fashion is being so widely discussed, aims to be an initial contribution to what we hope will become a long-term dialogue regarding both the role of fashion in utopian thinking and the potential of utopian thinking to reimagine and inspire better futures for fashion. The issue embraces Ruth Levitas’s conceptualization of utopia as a method of exploring alternative scenarios for the future and it combines perspectives from academics and practitioners across multiple disciplines.
There is no arguing with the fact that the history of fashion, like the history of utopian thought, has been stained by suffering, exploitation, and even totalitarianism, but despite their deficiencies and faults, both have also fuelled human imagination, encouraged aspiration and innovation, and provided hope for a better sense of self and an improved, more inclusive society. A world without fashion, like a world without utopia, would be a very sad one. Through this special issue we propose a dialogue that embraces the significance of fashion in utopian visions and one that exploits the potential of utopian imagination to inspire better and more sustainable fashion futures. A dialogue that is fuelled by the belief that positive social change is both possible and desirable.
Guest editor: Mila Burcikova
Contributors: Jane MacRae Campbell, Justyna Galant, Annebella Pollen, Andrew Brookes, Kate Fletcher, Robert A. Francis, Emma Dulcie Rigby, Thomas Roberts, Otto von Busch, Timo Rissanen, Vidmina Stasiulyte, Celia Pym, Ryan Yasin
Utopian Studies, 2017
The production of the special issue Utopia and Fashion, at a time when the future of our relation... more The production of the special issue Utopia and Fashion, at a time when the future of our relationship with fashion is being so widely discussed, aims to be an initial contribution to what we hope will become a long-term dialogue regarding both the role of fashion in utopian thinking and the potential of utopian thinking to reimagine and inspire better futures for fashion. The issue embraces Ruth Levitas’s conceptualization of utopia as a method of exploring alternative scenarios for the future and it combines perspectives from academics and practitioners across multiple disciplines.
There is no arguing with the fact that the history of fashion, like the history of utopian thought, has been stained by suffering, exploitation, and even totalitarianism, but despite their deficiencies and faults, both have also fuelled human imagination, encouraged aspiration and innovation, and provided hope for a better sense of self and an improved, more inclusive society. A world without fashion, like a world without utopia, would be a very sad one. Through this special issue we propose a dialogue that embraces the significance of fashion in utopian visions and one that exploits the potential of utopian imagination to inspire better and more sustainable fashion futures. A dialogue that is fuelled by the belief that positive social change is both possible and desirable.
Guest editor: Mila Burcikova
Contributors: Jane MacRae Campbell, Justyna Galant, Annebella Pollen, Andrew Brookes, Kate Fletcher, Robert A. Francis, Emma Dulcie Rigby, Thomas Roberts, Otto von Busch, Timo Rissanen, Vidmina Stasiulyte, Celia Pym, Ryan Yasin
PLATE: Product lifetimes and the environment, 2017
Researchers across disciplines increasingly acknowledge that embracing the multi-sensory characte... more Researchers across disciplines increasingly acknowledge that embracing the multi-sensory character of everyday perception can provide invaluable insights for social and design interventions that aim to improve the experience of products and services. Where fashion design traditionally focuses on the aesthetic, visual side of design, empirical studies prove that the way clothes feel, sound, or smell, is equally important for the way they are experienced and appreciated in everyday use. The aim of this paper is therefore to explore how users’ sensory engagement with clothing can inform the creative practice of designers who wish to design for continuity and increased user satisfaction. Satisfaction with a garment often leads to its repeated use and accumulation of pleasurable memories that can both positively influence the active lifetime of the garment. The paper draws on my on-going PhD research and presents initial findings of the second phase of my project (in-progress), which consists of a series of wardrobe studies conducted in participant’s homes. The results so far indicate that sensory experiences connected with clothing, although rarely explicitly acknowledged by users, can significantly affect user satisfaction and therefore deserve a greater attention in the context of sustainable
design and design for longevity.
Cumulus REDO Conference Proceedings, 2017
This paper draws on my ongoing PhD research which investigates how the concept of emotional durab... more This paper draws on my ongoing PhD research which investigates how the concept of emotional durability can be applied in fashion design and making to enhance user experience of clothing. The paper presents a selection of garments created during the first, exploratory, phase of my project and discusses examples of design interventions that could contribute to increased satisfaction and well-being of users, designers and makers of fashion. It reflects on some of the challenges involved in designing for durability and proposes that these should be seen as opportunities for further research and exploration. Envisioning what currently seems unthinkable is a first step to materializing visions for the future, a task to which designers are well suited as creative problem-solving lies at the core of design thinking.
Malcolm Ferris, (ed), Making Futures: The Crafts as Change-maker in Sustainably Aware Cultures. Vol 2. ISSN 2042-1664 , 2011
If perhaps somewhat surprisingly, throughout history craft has played a significant role in imagi... more If perhaps somewhat surprisingly, throughout history craft has played a significant role in imagining numerous alternatives to the existing social order. Indeed, the reasons for the emphasis on craftwork, as well as the approaches to the understanding of craft within all these quests have been as varied as the worldviews that inspired them. Notwithstanding though, from literary utopias, through monasteries, intentional communities, through the 19th and 20th century art, craft and design reforms or the 1960s rise of DIY movement up to the quite recent phenomenon of Craftivism, craft seems to have repeatedly resonated in times of political, social, economic and cultural crises. Despite the variety of approaches employed, one of the common features linking all these approaches together have always been their vulnerability to the charges of ΄idealism΄ and ΄utopianism΄ of one kind or another. The aim of the proposed paper is therefore to look at the relationship between craft, social transformation and utopianism. Consequently, the paper will seek to answer the question of whether and how can craft act as an agent of social change through drawing a connection between the ideas of the British poet, designer and socialist William Morris (1834-1896) and the currently flourishing Craftivism movement.
The term Craftivism (craft + activism) was coined in the early 2000s by the writer and ΄crafter΄ Betsy Greer. Greer defines craftivism as “a way of looking at life where voicing opinions through creativity makes your voice stronger, your compassion deeper and your quest for justice more infinite”. Most of the issues at the core of the craftivist agenda (environmentalism, anti-capitalism, anti-sweatshop or antiwar), quite strikingly resemble the topics eagerly addressed by William Morris almost one and a half century ago. Yet, despite the very similar points of departure and the mediatory role ascribed to craft in both craftivist and William Morris’s anti-consumerist and anti-capitalist stance, there are a number of differences that draw these two approaches apart and, moreover, raise justified questions about the power of craft to negotiate social change. The proposed paper will suggest that the main differences between the two approaches are threesome and lie in their treatment of: 1. creativity, 2. materials and 3. skill. These, with special focus on the latter, will therefore serve as the main framework for the discussion of transformative potential of craft. The paper will question how creativity relates to skill and whether a consistent and convincing political statement can be made without what Richard Sennett describes as “quality-driven work”.
Reports by Mila Burcikova
European Commission, 2019
As identified in the COP 2015 Paris Agreement there is an urgent imperative for global efforts to... more As identified in the COP 2015 Paris Agreement there is an urgent imperative for global efforts to tackle climate change and environmental damage from major industrial activities. This report supports this process in the European textiles, fashion and footwear sector, a major industry providing employment for nearly 1.7million people across the EU in approximately 176,000 businesses. These are mainly small businesses with less than 50 employees, representing 90% of the overall workforce. Small and micro businesses (with less than 10 employees) are recognized as key players in change-making for the industry, due to their agility and overall control of their operations. Here we focus on the potential for SMEs to adopt more sustainable business models and embrace the circular economy, and the key enabling factors.
This report maps many current initiatives and key organisations operating in sustainable fashion and textiles across Europe and provides an overview of the opportunities for and challenges hindering the adoption of environmentally and economically sustainable business models in the fashion sector. It also identifies key enablers that will assist in the transformation towards a circular economy. With a special focus on designers, start-ups and SMEs, the report provides 12 case studies drawn from 9 member states as exemplars of best practice, to encourage sustainability throughout all stages of the fashion value chain from design and production, to services and end-of-life solutions.
These include: new fibre development and materials recycling (Orange Fiber, Ecoalf, re:newcell); design and manufacture of fashion products and accessories using a range of sustainable, recycled and upcycled materials (Elvis & Kresse, VEJA, REDU, Rifò, MUD Jeans, Stanley/Stella); retail customer services including repair and take back (MUD Jeans, Elvis & Kresse), new clothes sharing and reselling business models (The Nu Wardrobe), software systems for on-demand fashion production (Unmade), plus a consumer and industry facing campaign for positive action and education for a more transparent and sustainable fashion system (Fashion Revolution). Within each case study comparator businesses have also been identified, working around particular business models, sub-sectors or practices that may use a different assortment of sustainable or circular activities.
The research has compiled a cross-Europe database of over 400 entries segmented into three main categories in relation to sustainable/circular practices: 1) Fashion Brands/Designers, 2) Materials, Technology and Recycling Organisations, 3) Supporting Organisations. The latter category 3) comprises a range of different types of players, providing a wide range of support for SMEs – these cover Fashion/textiles Networks, Sustainable Fashion Networks, Trade Associations, Business Support Organisations, NGOs/Campaigns, Consultancies and Education and/or Research Organisations. This data is presented as a table in Annex 7.2 and geographical visualisations in section 3.2.
Conference Presentations by Mila Burcikova
Global Fashion Conference - What's Going On?, 2018
Utopian ‘social dreaming’ often imagined societies whose inhabitants made do with relatively few ... more Utopian ‘social dreaming’ often imagined societies whose inhabitants made do with relatively few material possessions, including clothing. Such visions of material resourcefulness stand in stark contrast to the currently dominant model of fashion production and consumption in which designers are pushed to meet increasingly faster trend turnarounds and where consumers routinely discard large quantities of fully functional garments. It is clear that this situation is not sustainable, and that fashion future must be radically different.
This paper draws upon and expands the research presented in the special issue of the journal Utopian Studies ‘Utopia and Fashion’ published in early 2018. The issue examined the under-researched relationship between fashion and utopia through the lens of Ruth Levitas’ concept of utopia as a method of exploring alternative scenarios for the future. By combining multidisciplinary perspectives from academics and creative practitioners, the issue aimed to trigger a long-term dialogue regarding both the role of fashion in utopian thinking and the potential of utopian thinking to re-imagine and inspire better futures for fashion.
The paper has two parts, it first develops selected themes outlined in ‘Utopia and Fashion’ and demonstrates how utopian thinking can provide a helpful tool for addressing some of the dilemmas and challenges involved in the current discourse on fashion and sustainability. In the second part, the paper employs the metaphor of One Dress, a utopian vision of one garment for life, that helps unravel the complexities that underlie fashion’s agency on individual, social and political levels. The paper argues that this inherent complexity of fashion demands stronger activist agendas in both design education and consumer behaviour in order to negotiate future solutions that embrace a holistic perspective on fashion as a system at the intersection of power, nature, culture and society.
This paper draws on my on-going PhD research which investigates how the concept of emotional dura... more This paper draws on my on-going PhD research which investigates how the concept of emotional durability can be applied in fashion design and making to enhance user experience of clothing. The paper presents a selection of garments created during the first, exploratory, phase of my project and discusses examples of design interventions that could contribute to increased satisfaction and well-being of users, designers and makers of fashion. It reflects on some of the challenges involved in designing for durability and proposes that these should be seen as opportunities for further research and exploration. Envisioning what currently seems unthinkable is a first step to materializing visions for the future, a task to which designers are well suited as creative problem-solving lies at the core of design thinking.
“It’s not where you take things from – it’s where you take them to.” Jean-Luc Godard
The propo... more “It’s not where you take things from – it’s where you take them to.” Jean-Luc Godard
The proposed paper presents an ongoing practice-led research project that resulted from a collaboration started after the 2011 Making Futures Conference.
Articulated as a practice of design-couture, conceptualized as a project that seeks a sense of social engagement through research, design and making of everyday ‘common couture’, Rusted puts craft action in a very close relation with daily (political) or practical life. Rusted designs collage pre-used fabric and clothing (found, bought or gifted) with new cloth, thus using items of fabric and clothing from different times, countries and with variety of social histories. This collaged sensibility and the act of sewing becomes a way of thinking about the different ways in which clothing is made and how styles change in respect to technology, economics, fashion, business and social change.
For Making Futures 2013 Rusted will present a series of new apron designs. Rusted is particularly interested in the apron as a fashion garment, perceived as an interlayer (an interface) between the private and public self, between work-craft and leisure, between work wear and urban chic, and between universal overall and individual identity. We conceive of the new apron as an entire way of thinking and being, enabling a review of definitions and conventions of fashion.
Appropriately designed as an over-garment, the apron is a symbol of interconnectedness, possessing a sense of flow between daily life and work, fluidity between work-wear to evening-wear, fluidity between men‘s wear and women‘s wear and ultimately fluidity between art, craft and society. The power of the apron, flexible in terms of practicality and symbolically (as a notional protective garment), potentially lies in its capacity to enable the wearer to adorn more expensive clothes at work, home and at leisure – the apron protects the wearer’s clothes from stains, stresses and abrasions. To only wash and replace the apron may also have an ecological role to play in reducing the number of clothes one needs and of reducing the number of washes of many clothes at high temperatures (Fletcher 2008, Flint 2011).
Taking inspiration from a variety of references, including traditional folk costumes, pit brow lass dress or the work of contemporary designers such as Martin Margiela or Teresa Martin, Rusted aims to animate the discussion on tradition vs. innovation in fashion and contribute to the current debate on the role of functionality, storytelling and emotional attachment to textiles in extending the lifecycle of clothing.
Keywords: practice-led research, craft, fashion, social engagement, work wear, apron, lifecycle design
References:
Fletcher, Kate (2008) “Use Matters” In: Sustainable Fashion and Textiles. Design Journeys, London: Earthscan, pp. 75-92
This paper builds upon the design practice of Mila Burcikova and Steve Swindells located in makin... more This paper builds upon the design practice of Mila Burcikova and Steve Swindells located in making everyday or ‘common couture’. Burcikova and Swindells are particularly interested in the performance/role of sewing an apron to nurture and articulate lived experience within a social setting. In this respect Burcikova and Swindells collage pre-worn garments (pre-loved) with new cloth to provide points of conversion that bring together different entities; urbane, civility, social, cosmopolitanism and folk. Appropriately designed as an over-garment the apron is a symbol of interconnectedness, possessing a sense of flow between daily life and work, fluidity between work-wear to evening-wear, fluidity between men‘s wear and women‘s wear and ultimately between art, craft and society. Designing and making an apron therefore is to encounter a set of complex and contradictory forces in fashion, work-craft and society.
The apron is thus a conceptual formulation and an approach toward a possible garment and place in a similar way to how Francois Burckhardt conceives of the future and utopia. Burckhardt argues that the concept of design itself implies something utopian, a working towards the future, of something yet to arise. The future therefore is essential to designers, and design in a social setting is a draft for the future where utopia will always provide essential points of reference for being in the world.
If perhaps somewhat surprisingly, throughout history craft has played a significant role in imagi... more If perhaps somewhat surprisingly, throughout history craft has played a significant role in imagining numerous alternatives to the existing social order. Indeed, the reasons for the emphasis on craftwork, as well as the approaches to the understanding of craft within all these quests have been as varied as the worldviews that inspired them. Notwithstanding though, from literary utopias, through monasteries, intentional communities, through the 19th and 20th century art, craft and design reforms or the 1960s rise of DIY movement up to the quite recent phenomenon of Craftivism, craft seems to have repeatedly resonated in times of political, social, economic and cultural crises. Despite the variety of approaches employed, one of the common features linking all these approaches together have always been their vulnerability to the charges of ΄idealism΄ and ΄utopianism΄ of one kind or another. The aim of the proposed paper is therefore to look at the relationship between craft, social transformation and utopianism. Consequently, the paper will seek to answer the question of whether and how can craft act as an agent of social change through drawing a connection between the ideas of the British poet, designer and socialist William Morris (1834-1896) and the currently flourishing Craftivism movement.
The term Craftivism ( craft + activism) was coined in the early 2000s by the writer and ΄crafter΄ Betsy Greer. Greer defines craftivism as “a way of looking at life where voicing opinions through creativity makes your voice stronger, your compassion deeper and your quest for justice more infinite”[1]. Most of the issues at the core of the craftivist agenda (environmentalism, anti-capitalism, anti-sweatshop or anti-war), quite strikingly resemble the topics eagerly addressed by William Morris almost one and a half century ago. Yet, despite the very similar points of departure and the mediatory role ascribed to craft in both craftivist and William Morris’s anti-consumerist and anti-capitalist stance, there are a number of differences that draw these two approaches apart and, moreover, raise justified questions about the power of craft to negotiate social change. The proposed paper will suggest that the main differences between the two approaches are threesome and lie in their treatment of: 1. creativity, 2. materials and 3. skill. These, with special focus on the latter, will therefore serve as the main framework for the discussion of transformative potential of craft. The paper will question how creativity relates to skill and whether
a consistent and convincing political statement can be made without what Richard Sennett describes as “quality-driven work”[2].
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] www.craftivism.com, (accessed May 16, 2011)
[2] Richard Sennett, The Craftsman (New Haven&London: Yale University Press, 2008), Chapter 9 Quality-Driven Work
Book Reviews by Mila Burcikova
Blog posts and other writing by Mila Burcikova
Centre for Sustainable Fashion, 2020
Centre for Sustainable Fashion, 2020
The Journal of Modern Craft, 2011
Many things would be easier if we could eat grass", remarks Ernst Bloch rather unexpectedly in hi... more Many things would be easier if we could eat grass", remarks Ernst Bloch rather unexpectedly in his monumental work The Principle of Hope. Indeed, this sounds very timely in the face of the hardships of current 'economic slowdown' and it doesn't take too much to imagine that many would heartily agree. As poignant as Bloch's momentary groan might sound though, it is as far from the central message of this magnum opus of utopian scholarship as it possibly can be.
The Journal of Modern Craft, 2011
Steampunk is the intersection of technology and romance. www.steampunkworkshop.com Top hats, cors... more Steampunk is the intersection of technology and romance. www.steampunkworkshop.com Top hats, corsets, chugging steam engines and adventurous gentlemen merrily exploring yet
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PhD thesis by Mila Burcikova
I set to remedy this gap through my own designer-maker practice that investigated women’s routine relationships with the clothes in their wardrobes. Focusing specifically on what matters in everyday use, I examine the possible applications of emotionally durable design in fashion design and making. This approach challenges the imperative of disposability in fashion and foregrounds instead a long-term value-creation enabled through the continuous use of familiar clothes.
The thesis structure has three interrelated elements that outline the linear narrative of the research as well as the conceptual and methodological developments. The first part of the thesis outlines the global challenges in fashion production and consumption. The second part introduces and applies ethnographic methods to understanding the sensory wardrobe, and the third concluding stage includes the findings and practical application in the One Thing Collection. Conceptually, the thesis moves from comprehending the macro towards a practical application in the micro.
The methodology employs a combination of practical explorations through designer-maker practice with in-depth wardrobe conversations. Adopting methods from narrative enquiry and sensory ethnography, ten women aged between 29-69 were interviewed in their homes. Rich imagery of clothes in use and extended excerpts of wardrobe conversations are essential components of the thesis ethos, these became framed as individual portraits of each of the women. It is stressed that these portraits are significant to the research findings presented in the thesis; the portraits are presented in the Appendices as the nature of sensory ethnography results in details of visual and textual data beyond the confines of the thesis.
The findings show that designable characteristics of garments such as shape, style, fit, colour, material, details, or easy care are all significant in contributing to a garment’s emotional durability. However,
a truly long-lasting relationship with a piece of clothing results from a complex dynamic between its design, the mode of its acquisition, expectations, fluctuation of personal circumstances, and each woman’s perspective on the relationship between continuity and change. The key insights are articulated through the four themes identified in thematic cross-case analysis of the wardrobe conversations: (1) Enablers, (2) Sensory experiences, (3) Longing and Belonging, and lastly (4) Layering. Each theme is also interpreted through the process of making a corresponding everyday garment that captures the essence of the women’s narratives.
This research contributes to the current discourse on emotional durability in fashion design and making and provides new contextual data on user experience of clothing; [See Chapter 7.3 Contribution to knowledge summarized, p. 300]. The research demonstrates that fashion design for emotional durability requires an empathic approach that readily embraces the complexity of everyday life as an opportunity, rather than a hindrance to creative expression. These conclusions are also now embodied in my studio practice with future development of the One Thing Collection that resulted from this thesis.
Journal papers by Mila Burcikova
the special issue of the journal Utopian Studies ‘Utopia and Fashion’,
guest edited by the author. The issue examined the under-researched
relationship between fashion and utopia through the lens of Ruth
Levitas’ concept of utopia as method for exploring alternative scenarios
for the future. With reference to key lines of enquiry in ‘Utopia and
Fashion’, this paper demonstrates how utopian thinking can be a helpful
tool for examining some of the dilemmas and ongoing challenges in the
current discourse on fashion and sustainability. Focusing specifically on reducing fashion consumption, the paper builds on empirical evidence
provided by author’s current practice-based research on emotional durability of clothing. The metaphor of One Dress, a utopian vision of one garment for life, then helps to examine the possibilities as well as the boundaries of attempts to radically reduce the number of items in our wardrobes. The overarching argument here is that the inherent complexity of our relationship with fashion and clothing requires stronger activist agendas in both design thinking and user behaviour. To direct our actions to solutions that address the core issues of unsustainable consumption rather than its symptoms, we need a shift in focus from materials and product development to everyday experiences of people who wear clothes while facing an entangled world with numerous and often contradicting demands. This paper aims to further the discussion on the potential of utopian thinking to re-imagine and inspire better and more sustainable futures of fashion.
There is no arguing with the fact that the history of fashion, like the history of utopian thought, has been stained by suffering, exploitation, and even totalitarianism, but despite their deficiencies and faults, both have also fuelled human imagination, encouraged aspiration and innovation, and provided hope for a better sense of self and an improved, more inclusive society. A world without fashion, like a world without utopia, would be a very sad one. Through this special issue we propose a dialogue that embraces the significance of fashion in utopian visions and one that exploits the potential of utopian imagination to inspire better and more sustainable fashion futures. A dialogue that is fuelled by the belief that positive social change is both possible and desirable.
Guest editor: Mila Burcikova
Contributors: Jane MacRae Campbell, Justyna Galant, Annebella Pollen, Andrew Brookes, Kate Fletcher, Robert A. Francis, Emma Dulcie Rigby, Thomas Roberts, Otto von Busch, Timo Rissanen, Vidmina Stasiulyte, Celia Pym, Ryan Yasin
There is no arguing with the fact that the history of fashion, like the history of utopian thought, has been stained by suffering, exploitation, and even totalitarianism, but despite their deficiencies and faults, both have also fuelled human imagination, encouraged aspiration and innovation, and provided hope for a better sense of self and an improved, more inclusive society. A world without fashion, like a world without utopia, would be a very sad one. Through this special issue we propose a dialogue that embraces the significance of fashion in utopian visions and one that exploits the potential of utopian imagination to inspire better and more sustainable fashion futures. A dialogue that is fuelled by the belief that positive social change is both possible and desirable.
Guest editor: Mila Burcikova
Contributors: Jane MacRae Campbell, Justyna Galant, Annebella Pollen, Andrew Brookes, Kate Fletcher, Robert A. Francis, Emma Dulcie Rigby, Thomas Roberts, Otto von Busch, Timo Rissanen, Vidmina Stasiulyte, Celia Pym, Ryan Yasin
design and design for longevity.
The term Craftivism (craft + activism) was coined in the early 2000s by the writer and ΄crafter΄ Betsy Greer. Greer defines craftivism as “a way of looking at life where voicing opinions through creativity makes your voice stronger, your compassion deeper and your quest for justice more infinite”. Most of the issues at the core of the craftivist agenda (environmentalism, anti-capitalism, anti-sweatshop or antiwar), quite strikingly resemble the topics eagerly addressed by William Morris almost one and a half century ago. Yet, despite the very similar points of departure and the mediatory role ascribed to craft in both craftivist and William Morris’s anti-consumerist and anti-capitalist stance, there are a number of differences that draw these two approaches apart and, moreover, raise justified questions about the power of craft to negotiate social change. The proposed paper will suggest that the main differences between the two approaches are threesome and lie in their treatment of: 1. creativity, 2. materials and 3. skill. These, with special focus on the latter, will therefore serve as the main framework for the discussion of transformative potential of craft. The paper will question how creativity relates to skill and whether a consistent and convincing political statement can be made without what Richard Sennett describes as “quality-driven work”.
Reports by Mila Burcikova
This report maps many current initiatives and key organisations operating in sustainable fashion and textiles across Europe and provides an overview of the opportunities for and challenges hindering the adoption of environmentally and economically sustainable business models in the fashion sector. It also identifies key enablers that will assist in the transformation towards a circular economy. With a special focus on designers, start-ups and SMEs, the report provides 12 case studies drawn from 9 member states as exemplars of best practice, to encourage sustainability throughout all stages of the fashion value chain from design and production, to services and end-of-life solutions.
These include: new fibre development and materials recycling (Orange Fiber, Ecoalf, re:newcell); design and manufacture of fashion products and accessories using a range of sustainable, recycled and upcycled materials (Elvis & Kresse, VEJA, REDU, Rifò, MUD Jeans, Stanley/Stella); retail customer services including repair and take back (MUD Jeans, Elvis & Kresse), new clothes sharing and reselling business models (The Nu Wardrobe), software systems for on-demand fashion production (Unmade), plus a consumer and industry facing campaign for positive action and education for a more transparent and sustainable fashion system (Fashion Revolution). Within each case study comparator businesses have also been identified, working around particular business models, sub-sectors or practices that may use a different assortment of sustainable or circular activities.
The research has compiled a cross-Europe database of over 400 entries segmented into three main categories in relation to sustainable/circular practices: 1) Fashion Brands/Designers, 2) Materials, Technology and Recycling Organisations, 3) Supporting Organisations. The latter category 3) comprises a range of different types of players, providing a wide range of support for SMEs – these cover Fashion/textiles Networks, Sustainable Fashion Networks, Trade Associations, Business Support Organisations, NGOs/Campaigns, Consultancies and Education and/or Research Organisations. This data is presented as a table in Annex 7.2 and geographical visualisations in section 3.2.
Conference Presentations by Mila Burcikova
This paper draws upon and expands the research presented in the special issue of the journal Utopian Studies ‘Utopia and Fashion’ published in early 2018. The issue examined the under-researched relationship between fashion and utopia through the lens of Ruth Levitas’ concept of utopia as a method of exploring alternative scenarios for the future. By combining multidisciplinary perspectives from academics and creative practitioners, the issue aimed to trigger a long-term dialogue regarding both the role of fashion in utopian thinking and the potential of utopian thinking to re-imagine and inspire better futures for fashion.
The paper has two parts, it first develops selected themes outlined in ‘Utopia and Fashion’ and demonstrates how utopian thinking can provide a helpful tool for addressing some of the dilemmas and challenges involved in the current discourse on fashion and sustainability. In the second part, the paper employs the metaphor of One Dress, a utopian vision of one garment for life, that helps unravel the complexities that underlie fashion’s agency on individual, social and political levels. The paper argues that this inherent complexity of fashion demands stronger activist agendas in both design education and consumer behaviour in order to negotiate future solutions that embrace a holistic perspective on fashion as a system at the intersection of power, nature, culture and society.
The proposed paper presents an ongoing practice-led research project that resulted from a collaboration started after the 2011 Making Futures Conference.
Articulated as a practice of design-couture, conceptualized as a project that seeks a sense of social engagement through research, design and making of everyday ‘common couture’, Rusted puts craft action in a very close relation with daily (political) or practical life. Rusted designs collage pre-used fabric and clothing (found, bought or gifted) with new cloth, thus using items of fabric and clothing from different times, countries and with variety of social histories. This collaged sensibility and the act of sewing becomes a way of thinking about the different ways in which clothing is made and how styles change in respect to technology, economics, fashion, business and social change.
For Making Futures 2013 Rusted will present a series of new apron designs. Rusted is particularly interested in the apron as a fashion garment, perceived as an interlayer (an interface) between the private and public self, between work-craft and leisure, between work wear and urban chic, and between universal overall and individual identity. We conceive of the new apron as an entire way of thinking and being, enabling a review of definitions and conventions of fashion.
Appropriately designed as an over-garment, the apron is a symbol of interconnectedness, possessing a sense of flow between daily life and work, fluidity between work-wear to evening-wear, fluidity between men‘s wear and women‘s wear and ultimately fluidity between art, craft and society. The power of the apron, flexible in terms of practicality and symbolically (as a notional protective garment), potentially lies in its capacity to enable the wearer to adorn more expensive clothes at work, home and at leisure – the apron protects the wearer’s clothes from stains, stresses and abrasions. To only wash and replace the apron may also have an ecological role to play in reducing the number of clothes one needs and of reducing the number of washes of many clothes at high temperatures (Fletcher 2008, Flint 2011).
Taking inspiration from a variety of references, including traditional folk costumes, pit brow lass dress or the work of contemporary designers such as Martin Margiela or Teresa Martin, Rusted aims to animate the discussion on tradition vs. innovation in fashion and contribute to the current debate on the role of functionality, storytelling and emotional attachment to textiles in extending the lifecycle of clothing.
Keywords: practice-led research, craft, fashion, social engagement, work wear, apron, lifecycle design
References:
Fletcher, Kate (2008) “Use Matters” In: Sustainable Fashion and Textiles. Design Journeys, London: Earthscan, pp. 75-92
The apron is thus a conceptual formulation and an approach toward a possible garment and place in a similar way to how Francois Burckhardt conceives of the future and utopia. Burckhardt argues that the concept of design itself implies something utopian, a working towards the future, of something yet to arise. The future therefore is essential to designers, and design in a social setting is a draft for the future where utopia will always provide essential points of reference for being in the world.
The term Craftivism ( craft + activism) was coined in the early 2000s by the writer and ΄crafter΄ Betsy Greer. Greer defines craftivism as “a way of looking at life where voicing opinions through creativity makes your voice stronger, your compassion deeper and your quest for justice more infinite”[1]. Most of the issues at the core of the craftivist agenda (environmentalism, anti-capitalism, anti-sweatshop or anti-war), quite strikingly resemble the topics eagerly addressed by William Morris almost one and a half century ago. Yet, despite the very similar points of departure and the mediatory role ascribed to craft in both craftivist and William Morris’s anti-consumerist and anti-capitalist stance, there are a number of differences that draw these two approaches apart and, moreover, raise justified questions about the power of craft to negotiate social change. The proposed paper will suggest that the main differences between the two approaches are threesome and lie in their treatment of: 1. creativity, 2. materials and 3. skill. These, with special focus on the latter, will therefore serve as the main framework for the discussion of transformative potential of craft. The paper will question how creativity relates to skill and whether
a consistent and convincing political statement can be made without what Richard Sennett describes as “quality-driven work”[2].
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] www.craftivism.com, (accessed May 16, 2011)
[2] Richard Sennett, The Craftsman (New Haven&London: Yale University Press, 2008), Chapter 9 Quality-Driven Work
Book Reviews by Mila Burcikova
Blog posts and other writing by Mila Burcikova
I set to remedy this gap through my own designer-maker practice that investigated women’s routine relationships with the clothes in their wardrobes. Focusing specifically on what matters in everyday use, I examine the possible applications of emotionally durable design in fashion design and making. This approach challenges the imperative of disposability in fashion and foregrounds instead a long-term value-creation enabled through the continuous use of familiar clothes.
The thesis structure has three interrelated elements that outline the linear narrative of the research as well as the conceptual and methodological developments. The first part of the thesis outlines the global challenges in fashion production and consumption. The second part introduces and applies ethnographic methods to understanding the sensory wardrobe, and the third concluding stage includes the findings and practical application in the One Thing Collection. Conceptually, the thesis moves from comprehending the macro towards a practical application in the micro.
The methodology employs a combination of practical explorations through designer-maker practice with in-depth wardrobe conversations. Adopting methods from narrative enquiry and sensory ethnography, ten women aged between 29-69 were interviewed in their homes. Rich imagery of clothes in use and extended excerpts of wardrobe conversations are essential components of the thesis ethos, these became framed as individual portraits of each of the women. It is stressed that these portraits are significant to the research findings presented in the thesis; the portraits are presented in the Appendices as the nature of sensory ethnography results in details of visual and textual data beyond the confines of the thesis.
The findings show that designable characteristics of garments such as shape, style, fit, colour, material, details, or easy care are all significant in contributing to a garment’s emotional durability. However,
a truly long-lasting relationship with a piece of clothing results from a complex dynamic between its design, the mode of its acquisition, expectations, fluctuation of personal circumstances, and each woman’s perspective on the relationship between continuity and change. The key insights are articulated through the four themes identified in thematic cross-case analysis of the wardrobe conversations: (1) Enablers, (2) Sensory experiences, (3) Longing and Belonging, and lastly (4) Layering. Each theme is also interpreted through the process of making a corresponding everyday garment that captures the essence of the women’s narratives.
This research contributes to the current discourse on emotional durability in fashion design and making and provides new contextual data on user experience of clothing; [See Chapter 7.3 Contribution to knowledge summarized, p. 300]. The research demonstrates that fashion design for emotional durability requires an empathic approach that readily embraces the complexity of everyday life as an opportunity, rather than a hindrance to creative expression. These conclusions are also now embodied in my studio practice with future development of the One Thing Collection that resulted from this thesis.
the special issue of the journal Utopian Studies ‘Utopia and Fashion’,
guest edited by the author. The issue examined the under-researched
relationship between fashion and utopia through the lens of Ruth
Levitas’ concept of utopia as method for exploring alternative scenarios
for the future. With reference to key lines of enquiry in ‘Utopia and
Fashion’, this paper demonstrates how utopian thinking can be a helpful
tool for examining some of the dilemmas and ongoing challenges in the
current discourse on fashion and sustainability. Focusing specifically on reducing fashion consumption, the paper builds on empirical evidence
provided by author’s current practice-based research on emotional durability of clothing. The metaphor of One Dress, a utopian vision of one garment for life, then helps to examine the possibilities as well as the boundaries of attempts to radically reduce the number of items in our wardrobes. The overarching argument here is that the inherent complexity of our relationship with fashion and clothing requires stronger activist agendas in both design thinking and user behaviour. To direct our actions to solutions that address the core issues of unsustainable consumption rather than its symptoms, we need a shift in focus from materials and product development to everyday experiences of people who wear clothes while facing an entangled world with numerous and often contradicting demands. This paper aims to further the discussion on the potential of utopian thinking to re-imagine and inspire better and more sustainable futures of fashion.
There is no arguing with the fact that the history of fashion, like the history of utopian thought, has been stained by suffering, exploitation, and even totalitarianism, but despite their deficiencies and faults, both have also fuelled human imagination, encouraged aspiration and innovation, and provided hope for a better sense of self and an improved, more inclusive society. A world without fashion, like a world without utopia, would be a very sad one. Through this special issue we propose a dialogue that embraces the significance of fashion in utopian visions and one that exploits the potential of utopian imagination to inspire better and more sustainable fashion futures. A dialogue that is fuelled by the belief that positive social change is both possible and desirable.
Guest editor: Mila Burcikova
Contributors: Jane MacRae Campbell, Justyna Galant, Annebella Pollen, Andrew Brookes, Kate Fletcher, Robert A. Francis, Emma Dulcie Rigby, Thomas Roberts, Otto von Busch, Timo Rissanen, Vidmina Stasiulyte, Celia Pym, Ryan Yasin
There is no arguing with the fact that the history of fashion, like the history of utopian thought, has been stained by suffering, exploitation, and even totalitarianism, but despite their deficiencies and faults, both have also fuelled human imagination, encouraged aspiration and innovation, and provided hope for a better sense of self and an improved, more inclusive society. A world without fashion, like a world without utopia, would be a very sad one. Through this special issue we propose a dialogue that embraces the significance of fashion in utopian visions and one that exploits the potential of utopian imagination to inspire better and more sustainable fashion futures. A dialogue that is fuelled by the belief that positive social change is both possible and desirable.
Guest editor: Mila Burcikova
Contributors: Jane MacRae Campbell, Justyna Galant, Annebella Pollen, Andrew Brookes, Kate Fletcher, Robert A. Francis, Emma Dulcie Rigby, Thomas Roberts, Otto von Busch, Timo Rissanen, Vidmina Stasiulyte, Celia Pym, Ryan Yasin
design and design for longevity.
The term Craftivism (craft + activism) was coined in the early 2000s by the writer and ΄crafter΄ Betsy Greer. Greer defines craftivism as “a way of looking at life where voicing opinions through creativity makes your voice stronger, your compassion deeper and your quest for justice more infinite”. Most of the issues at the core of the craftivist agenda (environmentalism, anti-capitalism, anti-sweatshop or antiwar), quite strikingly resemble the topics eagerly addressed by William Morris almost one and a half century ago. Yet, despite the very similar points of departure and the mediatory role ascribed to craft in both craftivist and William Morris’s anti-consumerist and anti-capitalist stance, there are a number of differences that draw these two approaches apart and, moreover, raise justified questions about the power of craft to negotiate social change. The proposed paper will suggest that the main differences between the two approaches are threesome and lie in their treatment of: 1. creativity, 2. materials and 3. skill. These, with special focus on the latter, will therefore serve as the main framework for the discussion of transformative potential of craft. The paper will question how creativity relates to skill and whether a consistent and convincing political statement can be made without what Richard Sennett describes as “quality-driven work”.
This report maps many current initiatives and key organisations operating in sustainable fashion and textiles across Europe and provides an overview of the opportunities for and challenges hindering the adoption of environmentally and economically sustainable business models in the fashion sector. It also identifies key enablers that will assist in the transformation towards a circular economy. With a special focus on designers, start-ups and SMEs, the report provides 12 case studies drawn from 9 member states as exemplars of best practice, to encourage sustainability throughout all stages of the fashion value chain from design and production, to services and end-of-life solutions.
These include: new fibre development and materials recycling (Orange Fiber, Ecoalf, re:newcell); design and manufacture of fashion products and accessories using a range of sustainable, recycled and upcycled materials (Elvis & Kresse, VEJA, REDU, Rifò, MUD Jeans, Stanley/Stella); retail customer services including repair and take back (MUD Jeans, Elvis & Kresse), new clothes sharing and reselling business models (The Nu Wardrobe), software systems for on-demand fashion production (Unmade), plus a consumer and industry facing campaign for positive action and education for a more transparent and sustainable fashion system (Fashion Revolution). Within each case study comparator businesses have also been identified, working around particular business models, sub-sectors or practices that may use a different assortment of sustainable or circular activities.
The research has compiled a cross-Europe database of over 400 entries segmented into three main categories in relation to sustainable/circular practices: 1) Fashion Brands/Designers, 2) Materials, Technology and Recycling Organisations, 3) Supporting Organisations. The latter category 3) comprises a range of different types of players, providing a wide range of support for SMEs – these cover Fashion/textiles Networks, Sustainable Fashion Networks, Trade Associations, Business Support Organisations, NGOs/Campaigns, Consultancies and Education and/or Research Organisations. This data is presented as a table in Annex 7.2 and geographical visualisations in section 3.2.
This paper draws upon and expands the research presented in the special issue of the journal Utopian Studies ‘Utopia and Fashion’ published in early 2018. The issue examined the under-researched relationship between fashion and utopia through the lens of Ruth Levitas’ concept of utopia as a method of exploring alternative scenarios for the future. By combining multidisciplinary perspectives from academics and creative practitioners, the issue aimed to trigger a long-term dialogue regarding both the role of fashion in utopian thinking and the potential of utopian thinking to re-imagine and inspire better futures for fashion.
The paper has two parts, it first develops selected themes outlined in ‘Utopia and Fashion’ and demonstrates how utopian thinking can provide a helpful tool for addressing some of the dilemmas and challenges involved in the current discourse on fashion and sustainability. In the second part, the paper employs the metaphor of One Dress, a utopian vision of one garment for life, that helps unravel the complexities that underlie fashion’s agency on individual, social and political levels. The paper argues that this inherent complexity of fashion demands stronger activist agendas in both design education and consumer behaviour in order to negotiate future solutions that embrace a holistic perspective on fashion as a system at the intersection of power, nature, culture and society.
The proposed paper presents an ongoing practice-led research project that resulted from a collaboration started after the 2011 Making Futures Conference.
Articulated as a practice of design-couture, conceptualized as a project that seeks a sense of social engagement through research, design and making of everyday ‘common couture’, Rusted puts craft action in a very close relation with daily (political) or practical life. Rusted designs collage pre-used fabric and clothing (found, bought or gifted) with new cloth, thus using items of fabric and clothing from different times, countries and with variety of social histories. This collaged sensibility and the act of sewing becomes a way of thinking about the different ways in which clothing is made and how styles change in respect to technology, economics, fashion, business and social change.
For Making Futures 2013 Rusted will present a series of new apron designs. Rusted is particularly interested in the apron as a fashion garment, perceived as an interlayer (an interface) between the private and public self, between work-craft and leisure, between work wear and urban chic, and between universal overall and individual identity. We conceive of the new apron as an entire way of thinking and being, enabling a review of definitions and conventions of fashion.
Appropriately designed as an over-garment, the apron is a symbol of interconnectedness, possessing a sense of flow between daily life and work, fluidity between work-wear to evening-wear, fluidity between men‘s wear and women‘s wear and ultimately fluidity between art, craft and society. The power of the apron, flexible in terms of practicality and symbolically (as a notional protective garment), potentially lies in its capacity to enable the wearer to adorn more expensive clothes at work, home and at leisure – the apron protects the wearer’s clothes from stains, stresses and abrasions. To only wash and replace the apron may also have an ecological role to play in reducing the number of clothes one needs and of reducing the number of washes of many clothes at high temperatures (Fletcher 2008, Flint 2011).
Taking inspiration from a variety of references, including traditional folk costumes, pit brow lass dress or the work of contemporary designers such as Martin Margiela or Teresa Martin, Rusted aims to animate the discussion on tradition vs. innovation in fashion and contribute to the current debate on the role of functionality, storytelling and emotional attachment to textiles in extending the lifecycle of clothing.
Keywords: practice-led research, craft, fashion, social engagement, work wear, apron, lifecycle design
References:
Fletcher, Kate (2008) “Use Matters” In: Sustainable Fashion and Textiles. Design Journeys, London: Earthscan, pp. 75-92
The apron is thus a conceptual formulation and an approach toward a possible garment and place in a similar way to how Francois Burckhardt conceives of the future and utopia. Burckhardt argues that the concept of design itself implies something utopian, a working towards the future, of something yet to arise. The future therefore is essential to designers, and design in a social setting is a draft for the future where utopia will always provide essential points of reference for being in the world.
The term Craftivism ( craft + activism) was coined in the early 2000s by the writer and ΄crafter΄ Betsy Greer. Greer defines craftivism as “a way of looking at life where voicing opinions through creativity makes your voice stronger, your compassion deeper and your quest for justice more infinite”[1]. Most of the issues at the core of the craftivist agenda (environmentalism, anti-capitalism, anti-sweatshop or anti-war), quite strikingly resemble the topics eagerly addressed by William Morris almost one and a half century ago. Yet, despite the very similar points of departure and the mediatory role ascribed to craft in both craftivist and William Morris’s anti-consumerist and anti-capitalist stance, there are a number of differences that draw these two approaches apart and, moreover, raise justified questions about the power of craft to negotiate social change. The proposed paper will suggest that the main differences between the two approaches are threesome and lie in their treatment of: 1. creativity, 2. materials and 3. skill. These, with special focus on the latter, will therefore serve as the main framework for the discussion of transformative potential of craft. The paper will question how creativity relates to skill and whether
a consistent and convincing political statement can be made without what Richard Sennett describes as “quality-driven work”[2].
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] www.craftivism.com, (accessed May 16, 2011)
[2] Richard Sennett, The Craftsman (New Haven&London: Yale University Press, 2008), Chapter 9 Quality-Driven Work