How the Harbutt Fund enabled me to design my graduate capsule collection 'Tonal Tides'

                       

I'm soon to be a BA (Hons) Fashion Design graduate and I am ecstatic to have completed my sustainable fashion collection as I've envisioned it. It has taken me years (!!!) of research, preparation and development to get here. I can proudly present 'Tonal Tides' as a transeasonal, unisex circular fashion collection - which would not be what it is today without the support of the Harbutt fund. 

I was initially inspired by photographs of my parents sailing the world together, their mood of comfort and ease encouraging my sailing wear and soft tailoring research. Then, striking colours of salt evaporation ponds in aerial pictures led to investigation around the idea of life and death in nature, encouraging the circular design system within my work: where all items return to the Earth as 'food, not poison'. 


In this way, all of my fabric choices are biodegradable (natural fibres), naturally dyed by hand (reducing toxic waste run-off) and all of my fastenings are composed of reusable and widely recycled metal. The boxy shapes fit both genders and modular fastenings allow for the garment to be worn in several ways, encouraging the wearer to keep the unique item for a long time.

                             
                               

 Making a fashion collection from scratch takes dedication, passion and... (oh, just a key element) money! When thinking about limitations as a designer, money shouldn't be the reason to compromise material selection, affecting the overall quality and look of the items. It was so important to me that my circular collection was composed of sustainably produced, long-lasting materials.

 So I did all of the hard work: I went to the 'Sustainable Angle Fabric Expo' in London and sourced my silks, hemps, wools, cottons and linens, I learned how to naturally dye, I worked two jobs over the summers to save. Sometimes even trying your hardest isn't enough, so I found myself having to ask for a little help - and I turned to DARO at Bath Spa.Winning the award made me feel so much more confident in my ideas and skill.

I need to say thank you to all of the donors who allow for the Harbutt fund to exist. With it, I was able to fund half of the fabrics needed for my collection. To give you a little insight, my 6 outfit collection comprises of 14 garments, ranging from hemp jersey tank tops to hemp/cotton jackets and trousers. A jacket alone uses roughly 2.5 metres of fabric (sleeves, facings and outer shell), each metre costing an average of £25 - it really adds up!

I was also able to work with an incredible textile designer, Carolyn Raff, to use her algae-based biopolymer in my work. It is brightly coloured by natural dyes, compostable and replaces the need for the use of PVC. Using this ground-breaking biomaterial, I feel my collection has something unique to offer.




 Thanks to you, DARO donor, I can confidently present myself as a sustainable graduate designer going into the vast convoluted world of fashion. Hopefully, I can make some change in consumer's mindsets and encourage designers to create more ethically an environmentally, too.

Another thank you to the staff as Bath Spa DARO, especially to George and Naomi, for encouraging and guiding my application, which made the process so much easier.

I just want to leave you with the thought that paying into this fund is really like 'paying-it-forward'. Students can come from not-so-favourable backgrounds or be on intensive courses demanding all of their time, and have grand ideas without the means to follow them through. To give pioneering students (particularly in the creative industries) a platform that can enable us to move forward and to stop seeing money as the 'barrier' to achieving greatness is the greatest gift of all.

Thanks again to DARO and all donors!

- Catherine x

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