Workshop
From February 26th, 2024 to March 26th 2024
From February 26 to March 26, 2024, Raúl Egloff Alcaide, a Fashion Design lecturer, led an innovative workshop on upcycling with first-year Bachelor's degree students.
The project was based on the use of raw materials recovered from the Vestiaire Social, a centre in Geneva run by the Red Cross, Caritas and the CSP. This association provides clothing, shoes and household linen free of charge to people in precarious situations. The textiles available to the students, deemed too worn or damaged to be distributed, were initially destined for waste collection. Our 27 young designers worked with heart and creativity to transform and give new life to these materials, creating unique and innovative pieces. Some of their creations will be presented in New York during Climate Week in September, highlighting the need for change in the fashion industry and revealing the infinite possibilities and creative potential of upcycling.
Find out more about the students' creations on the event page.
A workshop focusing on three educational axes, to develop professional, methodological and social skills.
The first axis focuses on exploring one's own culture and cultural origins. This personal research includes various fields such as art, design, music, film, photography, personal rituals, and so on. By critically examining their culture, students study cultural appropriation in the context of fashion. The challenge is to analyze and reference sources correctly to draw inspiration without falling into cultural appropriation.
The second focus is on developing new creative methods through experimentation in fashion design. Participants are invited to create new shapes, volumes and silhouettes. The exercise consists of using clothes as raw material to develop the structure and volumes of the silhouette in 3D, then transcribing these experiments into 2D (drawing and collage) to create variations of looks. After analysis and discussion in class, the most relevant proposal is produced.
The third part of the project focuses on upcycling, resulting in the creation of a fabric, two final pieces of clothing, and merchandising products that will be presented at the exhibition in New York. The fabrics are made using various techniques for modifying, manipulating and transforming the raw material: weaving, knitting, embroidery, printing, lasercut, textile decorations and patchwork, among others.
This workshop is above all an introspective exercise on two scales. The first scale, personal, aims to create its own universe with referenced sources, while tackling the notion of cultural appropriation. The team was honoured to welcome researcher and designer Camille Buehler, who introduced this theme.
The second scale, collective, encourages awareness of the issues surrounding production and consumption in the textile industry. Recycling issues were discussed in a dedicated session with designer and author Dinie van den Heuvel (Sew What?, 2023). She addressed the environmental issues directly caused by the fashion industry and discussed collective solutions for a healthy and sustainable future.
Brigitte da Conceição
Dinnie van den Heuvel
Camille Buehler
Tineke van der Meer
AESCHLIMANN Luna
ANEX ROSAS LANDA Céline
BONELLI Chiara
BOUAMOUD Sarah
BOUBEKEUR Zakarie
CEDOLIN Loris
CHEVALLEY Joel
CHOI Heeju
CRASTES DE PAULET Raphaelle
DANI Vanessa
FERRARI Pablo
HERODY Hector
HOFER Lola
JACQUET Coline
JEANDAT Arthur
KÖPPEL Ivy
KRIER Zita
LEPELTIER Louise
LUCARELLI Marco
NKEUNA Andy
PANABIERE Antoine
PAPOTTO GURY Maxime
ROSAZZA-CELIN Elalilou
ROSSE Mahée
TRESALLET Kelig
VAN DER LINDEN Sacha
VOLTA Tommaso