Making REdesign A Reality In The U.P.
Taylor Ehle REdesigns The Way We Wear Clothes
Clothing REdesigner Taylor Ehle (center) and models wear dresses from her first collection in Marquette, MI, April 2015. (photo by Erica McMillan of Soullenz)
Marquette Michigan – If someone asked you, “If given the choice to save 1,500 gallons of water, keep unecessary pesticides out of the ground, and prevent caustic chemicals from entering our water systems, would you do it?” I believe most of us would answer a resounding, “Yes!” Now what if they said you could accomplish all this by putting the cute pair of jeans or brand new outfit you’ve been dying for back on the shelf? If you’re like me, you will be shocked to find out just how much waste and contamination of resources (mainly water) go into the creation of ready-to-wear mass produced clothing.
From the environmental pollutants in the manufacturing of new garments to the space they take up in our landfills once discarded, it’s obvious that we need to change our habits about how we wear our clothes. This is the heart and soul driving the clothing redesign trend from high-end fashion houses to the northern reaches of Marquette. Taylor Ehle, environmental studies major at NMU and local redesigner, has taken up needle and thread with a passion over the past year to become an active participant in the reformation of the fashion industry.
Making REdesign A Reality
Ehle was a featured designer in our own local Redesign Fashion Show at the Marquette Regional History Center in March 2015, presenting her first line of upcycled clothing along with several other talented redesigners from the area. Ehle was exposed to the upcycling trend while modeling and interning for another local clothing remixer, Lanni Lantto, who became her first inspiration and mentor.
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Says Ehle about her time with Lantto, “She has been a major inspiration to me. She’s taught me to not set any limits as to what I use to create my pieces or to lower my ambitions for the future. Her advocacy for the environment is admirable. It’s the ultimate reason as to why I choose to upcycle rather than buy brand new fabric.”
Having no previous experience with sewing hasn’t been a hinderance for Ehle in pursuing her ambitions as a redesigner. Ehle has been primarily self-taught finding teachers and support from the internet, her aunt Pat, and others in the upcycling community here like, Ann Rutkoske of Superior Sewing, who has been an invaluable resource providing her with information and answering questions along the way.
REdesigned dress by Taylor Ehle 2015. (photo by Erica McMillan of Soullenz Photography)
In the future after graduation from NMU Ehle hopes to pursue more traditional training in fashion design but for now she is enjoying the less formal process of redesigning with this to say, “There are absolutely no limits as to what can be made when designing a garment. The freedom from knowing that is enticing. It reassures me that nothing I am doing is ‘wrong’ and allows me to use whatever ideas I have, whether they are outrageous or elegant.”
Says Ehle about her choice to utilize only used fabrics instead of new textiles in her designs, “One reason I feel so passionately about upcycling is that I believe it’s the future, and the growing trend in redesign proves that. The materials that overwhelm Goodwill and take up space in landfills are the materials that are meant to robe the years to come.”
“Everything that redesigners do is upcycled. We utilize materials that have already been made, rather than support the production of brand new textiles. For our fabric, we go to thrift stores. My first move is usually toward the sheets and chair covers – that’s where I’ve found the most useful material. However, taking an old shirt and breathing new life into it can be just as fulfilling.”
“The ever growing Annual (re)Design Fashion Show exemplifies all of the possibilities that are out there in the redesign market. Dresses out of bed-skirts, shower curtains, and chair-covers are just as acceptable as something vintage made modern, in the world of upcycling. I love that there are no boundaries, and the fact that people are opening up to this idea means a better and healthier planet in the future.”
REdesigned dresses by Taylor Ehle 2015. (photo by Erica McMillan of Soullenz Photography)
What Can You Do?
The process of redesigning old fabrics and clothing is one of the sustainable solutions that can help us transition away from a culture living beyond the means of what our planet can support and continuously polluting the remaining resources we have.
Even if you’re all thumbs with a needle and thread you can be a part of it too by donating your used items to second hand outlets, shopping at local thrift stores next time you need a new outfit, and supporting the creative talents of redesigners in your community who thrive from breathing new life into the cast-offs of others. Says Ehle, “It is not work, creating clothing out of reused objects, it is passion.”
Find out what goes into the creation of a new pair of jeans in this article from OnEarth.org: How Green Are Your Jeans?
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