Blinkered: Falconry T-Shirt

Category: Apparel

My graduate collection; Blinkered was designed for a sustainable fashion brand I developed a business plan for in my final year of study called Salv/edge. The brand is centred around visible mending and inspired by ancient Japanese approach; Wabi Sabi which demonstrates an aesthetic appreciation for the passage of time and its impacts on the world around us. Kintsugi is a Japanese art-form derived from this approach where broken ceramics are mended with gold to celebrate the imperfection. I approached the textiles in my collection with this mindset and sourced a variety of genuine leather scraps including perforated leather and saddlery leather and re-constructed them using gold thread and trimmings using both hand and machine embroidery. The silhouette and construction of the Falconry T-Shirt was influenced by horse blinkers and falconry masks as tools used to control and restrict the wearer. These references act as a metaphor for the technological blinkers our phones have become and how often they influence and restrict our reality. I feel our phones and social media have enhanced the impacts of fast fashion through perpetuating a society striving for perfection through overconsumption. This piece inspires a new approach to fashion as it promotes visible mending through its construction and encourages the wearer/ viewer to find beauty in what was once discarded. The t-shirt can be patched and mended over its lifetime which will add to its durability and uniqueness.