DiscarDisco Update

Hey there!

Sorry it’s been a while since I’ve checked in but I’m finally getting around to uploading all of the results from Discard Disco! Finishing up the project was an adventure, somehow two weeks flew by in the blink of an eye and I was racing for the finish like I usually am. It was kind of refreshing, almost like getting tech notes done before the next dress rehearsal!

This post contains a full write up of the design and process as well as photos exclusive to Conscious Costume patrons. You can see the finished video on YouTube. 

Enough about procrastinating. The design for the look was inspired by the colors I received in my box and motivated by a desire to try new techniques. Since I don’t have a dress form, I wanted to focus on shapes that did not require precise fitting. Also the fabrics I had did not provide a significant amount of yardage so I knew I would need to supplement with other fabrics. Lastly I wanted to make sure that anything I made would be pieces I’d actually want to wear in the future, using upcycled materials to make something that is only used once seems to defeat the purpose of sustainable design.

The coat was a take on a late 60’s, early 70’s hippie coat, instead of a fur edge, I deconstructed the heavy fringe to create a faux fur for the coat. The red fabric was REALLY bright cherry red and I wanted something more muted and rusty, for this I tried my hand at natural dying. Using onion skins and some tea, I was able to dull the red to a color I was much happier with. The embroidery on the back is made up of various blue and grey cotton scraps from mask making in a Tree of Life design. A section of the red zipper formed the ground line between the tree and the embroidered roots. A sleeve from a mens' dress shirt was used as pocket material, the body of that shirt was used in an apron for a show in 2019 and the other sleeve was used for a puppet.

The dress was a chemise design, similar to one of the very first garments I ever patterned. With color blocking of the yellow and striped fabric I received in my box with more mask remnants adding some blue to the color palette. I used several of the buttons from my box for an angled button packet on the center front.

The belt was woven on an inkle loom, a centuries old style of loom for weaving straps, belts, and bands. This was my first full project on the loom and I was really happy with the results, the thin yarn was the perfect thickness for weaving. I knotted the belt through the apple shaped buckle from the box.

I was still left with pompoms and more fringe! For these I crafted 2 accessories: a necklace using the gold metallic fringe, gold metallic cord and a large button crafted into a whimsical choker. The pompoms, beads, and ball fringe were used to create playful ear cuffs. Overall the accessories added levity to the whole look.

I’m looking forward to next year’s challenge or possibly finding other opportunities to stretch my skills like this!

The Tiltify campaign to support The WasteShed will be going until the end of February. Though I did not win the competition, I’m still eligible for “People’s Choice.” If you click the link to the fundraiser, go to rewards below the progress bar and scroll down to select my name, every $2 is a vote. Also be sure to check out all of the contestants, there was some amazing work! The winning designer crafted a hat out of the box that the supplies came in, I was blown away and so impressed by everyone’s ideas.

Conscious Costume is also working on putting together a retrospective conversation with all of the designers about their experiences on the challenge and their use of upcycled materials. The WasteShed is such a great resource for Chicago and I can’t wait to go back in and poke around when they open to the public.

Thanks for all of your support!