Current Vision and Work:
The fashion industry encompasses many facets of business. Design, however, can and should play a strategic role in the development of a sustainable product throughout the entire lifecycle from raw material to reuse or recycling. The companies that will be most resilient through the paradigm shift of transparency and awareness of resource scarcity are those that provide benefits to people and the environment rather than negative impacts.
Kristen's aim is to work with luxury brands to improve product materials and find innovative uses for by-products that contribute to the design process. Creating a holistic, low-cost, low-impact, closed loop system.
All industries are facing global issues such as depletion of resources and climate change. Therefore, is it possible to form cross-industry knowledge exchange with other industries using or producing leather, in order to work through some of the most pertinent problems in our respective disciplines? By focusing on not just one solution, but on a series of improvements, we can slowly begin to shape the mindset of designers, manufacturers, and consumers alike. It is through an integrated approach of design and research, that the designer and involved stakeholders, from the consumer to the supplier, understand the source of material is sustainable, the design responsible, the construction not wasteful and the distribution ethical.
Experience:
In 2008 Kristen completed her undergraduate degree at Colorado State University where she majored in Apparel Design and Production, focusing on couture craftsmanship and techniques. Following graduation, she moved to New York City for an internship she received as a result of a design competition for her undergraduate thesis collection. After several internships and apprenticeships in the city she took a job as an assistant designer for a large mass market design house. This gave insight into the “real fashion industry” where she gained much experience in consumer trends, target markets and selling strategies.
Kristen's first experience in ‘sustainable fashion’ came when she was selected as a finalists in a national competition to design select ski apparel, sponsored by 686. The three-day design competition took place at the SnowSports Industries America (SIA) trade show in Denver, Colorado. The contest called for a design that utilized recycled material and left-over fabrics to create a garment that embodied the idea of reducing waste in the production of outerwear. After this, Kristen began to question the amount of waste in the industry, toxins that were put into the clothing and afterlife of the products. She wanted to do something within design that would actually make a difference, not contribute more environmental destruction.
In order to make a career change towards to improvement she applied for the first ever Masters program 'Sustainability in Fashion’ at ESMOD International School of Art for Fashion in Berlin. She wanted to do something more along the lines of craftsmanship rather than traditional fashion, so chose to work with leather and fur as these are some of the last materials still crafted by hand. A large portion of the thesis was a research project to find if leather and fur can fit into the sustainable field. She analyzed the entire fur industry supply chain from a designer standpoint to find where social, economic and environmental improvements could be made. The biggest problem in terms of environmental impact was the tanning and dyeing stage. So she worked with a dressing company and leather research institute to find natural alternatives to chromium and heavy-metal dyes. A breakthrough solution came from the use of olive leaves (which are the byproduct of olive oil production so create no additional waste) as a tanning agent, a replacement to what is currently used - chromium. The other part of the thesis focused on the amount of waste the fashion industry accumulates during production. Kristen created a six-piece wearable accessories collection from the left-over materials of leather and fur production.
The grand vision of her thesis was to make designers responsible for the materials they are using by giving them sustainable alternatives to work with, whatever their material of choice may be. In turn, they can use the power of design to educate the consumer to make purchasing choices that have less impact on themselves and the environment.
