Fourteenth International Conference on Design Principles & Practices

Abstract

Climate change, air and water pollution, and toxic waste dumps have emerged due to our mass consumption culture. To address these issues, 195 governments have decided to sign the Paris Agreement. However, the United States withdrew from the Agreement on grounds of potential job loss and instead increased the production of nonrenewable fuels such as coal and natural gas. Climate change is a threat to the financial and environmental stability of the world, disproportionally affecting lower income communities, and exasperating the socioeconomic differences between the rich and the poor. To raise concerns on the effects of global mass consumption, my design uses recycled denim jeans and shower curtains with contrasting design elements to express the global struggle for environmental conservation. Due to France’s leading role in leading the Paris Agreement and fighting against climate change, my design draws inspiration from clothes worn during WWII French resistance, which adopted existing items including ding patterns for dresses made of various shades and length of denim fabrics – not intrinsically beautiful but fashionable. With my study, “Truth or Consequences,” I hope to raise awareness on the negative effects of mass consumption and to promote sustainability. As one of the top consumed clothing, used denim was selected as one of the major design materials to represent wasteful mass consumption. Vinyl from used shower curtains was used to contrast against the parts of the jacket and pants to show the conflicting balance between environmental concerns and the unyielding need for fashionable products.