Ms Alison Gwilt

Program, Fashion & Textile Design

University of Technology Sydney

Originally from the UK, Alison has a degree in fashion and textiles from Central St Martins College in London. Her academic career includes managing programs and lecturing in fashion design in the UK, New Zealand and now Australia. Alison has remained active as a designer, researching creative concepts in cutting and design through her 'ordinary' label. Since 2001 Alison has been the Director of Program for Fashion & Textile Design at the University of Technology Sydney, and is also studying for a research higher degree at RMIT.
Alison.Mason@uts.edu.au

Sustainable Practices in Fashion Design: Haute Couture, the Unsung Hero?

This paper intends to explore the issue of sustainable practice in the context of the fashion design discipline - with particular reference to the haute couture method of production. Issues of sustainability have been widely discussed within many areas of design including textiles, product design, and architecture, but reference to these issues in the area of fashion design has been problematic and scarce. Whilst the nations' campaigners, governments, industries and the media voice, purport that as designers, we should be adopting sustainable methods, the reality is sometimes quite different.

Haute couture has long been perceived to be the 'spoils of the rich', but one could argue that this craft, which fashioned a superior tailor-made garment with a prolonged shelf life, has been ousted by an industry that has adopted 'market driven and disposable' philosophies. This paper intends to analyse and reflect

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