Lara warson

Grey Sheep

larawarson

Location

rotterdam / netherlands

University

willem de kooning academy

Graduation year

2020

Contact

My perspective on fashion has changed a lot in the past couple of years. The more I found out about the environmental impact it has, the more I started doubting if I even wanted to contribute to this industry.
This made me look into the opportunities within sustainable thinking, since I realised it doesn’t need to be a creative restriction for designers. In my work I explore the multiple approaches this mindset contains, from biodegradable textiles to upcycling already existing materials.

Latest Collection

ECO-WARRIOR

Graduating in times of a pandemic forced me to search for new approaches.
Especially since I was staying at my parents’ house in Belgium, where the lockdown restrictions were very severe at the time. It made me look at my surroundings with a different perspective and led me to collect forgotten objects around the house. By attaching these to a mannequin, silhouettes were created that I couldn’t have drawn by hand that easily.
To get a deeper insight of what I was doing, I based my research on upcycling and how it could be used as a design method to merge sustainable and sculptural fashion. When upcycling with existing objects, each one contains symbolic associations depending on societal values, time, culture, etc. So these associations needed to be in line with the message I wanted to convey.
From the beginning of my graduation year, I knew that I wanted to address the topic of climate change – as the fashion industry plays a significant role in the cause of it. This led me to research different types of climate activists. By selecting objects that relate to multiple causes and results of climate change, I formed the base of my eco-warrior collection. Representing activists against air pollution, the rising sea level, melting glaciers, deforestation and a human barricade.

Credits:
Photography: Toon Aerts
Model: Christina Abraham-Reynolds