Hannah Ahmed
Hannah Ahmed
Design Research & Exhibition
A term-long research project for my Design Research course. My topic of choice was focused on the fast-fashion industry, and making claim about the cruciality that the industry is producing. The critical environmental effects of the industry, what fashion brands are doing currently, what you can do yourself, and what alternatives are out there in order to mitigate these effects.
RESEARCH TACTIC #1: Demographics
My initial interest was learning more about the demographic for second-hand shopping. This allowed me to get a better understanding of current consumer trends and interests. It also tells me that consumers are willing to consider more sustainable choices within their mainstream fast-fashion decisions.
RESEARCH TACTIC #2: Mood Board
My next step was to gain a stronger grasp on my topic as well as more information about what repurposing fashion entails. In specifics, sustainable alternative materials made from natural resources, and how certain brands are attempting to incorporate these in their manufacturing processes, such as H&M. In addition to touching on clothing DIY and upcycling methods that you can personally do yourself, or shop and source from ethical companies such as ThredUp or Fabscrap.
RESEARCH TACTIC #3: Competitor Profiling
RESEARCH TACTIC #4: Questionnaire
Younger generations are essentially the future and hold much social responsibility. The purpose of the questionnaire was to get a better grasp of the perspectives of current OSU students and those who are considered to be Generation Z. Specifically, understanding what they know about the current environmental impacts, what they think hinders the adoption of repurposing methods, what they are practicing currently, and other means.
RESEARCH TACTIC #5: Infographics
CIRCULAR ECONOMY
Materials never have to become waste and nature is regenerated.
Doing additional research in terms of the current fast-fashion lifecycle of garments helped me get a better understanding of the current lens of the industry. The main problem is the linear business models that many companies are still following, with means millions of garments are put to waist. One of the solutions is to adopt a circular economy model to promote repurposing and recycling of textile waste.
DESIGN EXHIBITION
Materiality & Field Making Project
As a continuation of my previous project, I wanted focus on sustainability and repurposing material waste...
Our class embarked on a five-week design sprint aimed at creating an exhibition for OSU’s first ever Design Expo & Fashion show event. We collectively chose the theme "Corvallis 2075: Sustainable Connected Communities" to emphasize human connection with a focus on sustainability. Within this project, we formed teams to take on specific aspects of our project. My group in particular created "Unity Grove", a floral installation representing the "garden" portion of our community with each flower curated from recycled material waste.
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