In this talk, Kate Fletcher will draw from experiences of walking in the mountains of Norway and the hills and footpaths of the UK without synthetic fibres and fabrics.
Contemporary outdoor kit, including clothing, footwear and related outdoor equipment is dominated by the use of plastics. Yet this kit generates a higher environmental impact than other garment types. Its material qualities risk reproducing Modernity’s separation of humans from nature. Extending practices of sensory engagement with clothing, this talk will explore design’s other paths, and outdoor encounters other than plastic ones. It will journey in the foothills of relationship and interdependence of the dressed body moving in the living world. This talk will end with a short conversation between Kate and Louise St. Pierre who are collaborators on the Green Blood research project which explores these themes. Green Blood is funded by the Norwegian Research Council.
Kate Fletcher, PhD is Professor of Sustainability, Design and Fashion in Manchester School of Art, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK. Her work includes that on systems change, post-growth fashion, fashion localism and nature relations. She has written and/or edited 14 books available in eight languages. Kate is a co-founder of the Union of Concerned Researchers in Fashion and the proud recipient of an honorary doctorate from Emily Carr. Her most recent work is about design, clothing and nature.
Louise St. Pierre, PhD is a professor of Design at ECU. She is co-author of internationally recognized ecological design curriculum Okala: Learning Ecological Design, (2003, 2013). In 2013 she established Canada’s first Design for Social Innovation and Sustainability (DESIS) Lab at Emily Carr (DESIS n.d.). In her books and chapters on Nature’s systems, she weaves animist views and Zen mindfulness practices to open new perspectives and expand relationships with nature and design.
