I Love Eco loves smart design especially when it is carried out with as much thought and consideration as Dr. Kate Fletcher “Local Wisdom” project. I must first apologize for not writing an article on Kate ages ago… I’m so sorry Kate!  I began several articles and threw them aside with frustration because they never truly explained your accomplishments and beautiful ways of thinking about sustainable fashion.  I continue to learn and be inspired by your projects. With that said, I would like to announce the project, “Local Wisdom – A unique fashion project recording and celebrating the clothes-based ingenuity of our communities.” Visit the Local Wisdom project website for further details about the research event and how to participate and what clothing to bring to the events. The research events will take place in Totnes, UK on Saturday June 6th 2009 from 10am-4pm in association with Transition Towns Totnes Sustainable Makers and in Bollington, UK on Sunday July 5th 2009 from 10am-4pm a part of Three Shires Textile Festival. I hope it’s a huge success!

About the Project:

Good ideas happen everywhere and often involve creative acts with the things we have around us, like our clothes. These creative actions and ideas are rarely acknowledged and never make it onto catwalks or business agendas, yet we think they have potential to help solve some of the problems we face as a global community.
The Local Wisdom project recognizes, honours and gives credit to the many creative ideas and actions that involve our garments. These acts typically need little money or materials to make them happen, but instead tap into an abundance of experience, ingenuity and freethinking. This project captures and celebrates this ‘local wisdom’, uncovering its value and giving it a platform to flourish and inspire. Local Wisdom is a research project funded by London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London.

What it involves:

Gathering stories about garments using photographs and spoken testimony from volunteer members of the public in two regional UK towns. The public will be invited to bring along garments that:
• are shared between people
• are enjoying a third, fourth or fifth life
• have never been laundered (and aren’t leather!)
• have the character of a particular place in them
• surprise you each time you wear them
• have been let out, tucked in, re-worked, embellished
• show the careful attention of their creator/owner
• can be added to and taken away from (but are wearable both ways)
• make you feel part of a community (but not a uniform)

Outcomes:

Photographs, information and oral histories about garments
from the grassroots whose design and use saves resources,
helps us form strong connections with each other and builds
an awareness of the world around us.
Fashion ‘events’ that recognize and encourage a community’s
potential to create its own future.