FASHION ON EARTH
WEDNESDAY 6TH NOVEMBER
BRISTOL CATHEDRAL, 6.30 - 9.00PM
Credit: Bristol Cathedral
We are critically disconnected from our clothing, how it is made, its natural source and the many hands each garment passes through before it reaches us. All the resources that cloth our bodies come from this Earth and how we choose to care for and use such resources plays a significant role in planetary health.
All clothing comes from the land. Farmed, grown, extracted, picked and cut - your clothing begins in the ground and should return to the soil at the end of its lifecycle.
FASHION ON EARTH invites you to reflect on the relationship you have with your own clothing; to consider how connected you feel to the place and natural resources that are intrinsically linked to the garments you wear; and to imagine a fashion production future wholly connected to and respectful of the natural world.
Join us on Wednesday 6th November for a night exploring fashion that is created in harmony with nature.
GAIA: OUR HOME PLANET
The backdrop of Luke Jerram’s Gaia serves as a provoking reminder of the interconnectedness of all life on earth. As with any resources our society consumes, the clothing and materials we wear and dispose of have a significant impact on planetary health.
This event offers the opportunity for you to discover some of the artists, makers and organisations working towards a better fashion future. Through an inspiring evening of exhibited pieces, catwalk performance, stalls and live music we hope to encourage attendees to reframe their relationship with the clothing they wear.
Taking place at Bristol Cathedral, Fashion on Earth is part of Gaia: Our Home Planet range of events running across October and November.
Standing at the heart of Bristol's vibrant city centre, Bristol Cathedral is one of England's great medieval churches. For almost 900 years it has been a living place of sanctuary and community in the heart of the city.
Credit: Dave Challenger
SCHEDULE
6.30 - 7.30pm // View the Gaia exhibition, grab a drink from the bar, explore our makers garments and information about the production of natural fibres
7.30 - 8.30pm // Gather in the centre of the Nave and take a seat for our performances. With a reading by Kate Fletcher, from her writings on fashion and nature. Followed by the Oak Choir and models styled in garments created with the earth in mind.
8.30-9.00pm // Grab another drink, explore some more, swap poetry cards with strangers, get a copy of the new Kate Fletcher book
GARMENT EXHIBITION
We’re exhibiting 12 featured pieces from a range of designers and makers seeking to create an alternative fashion system. Each piece will showcase the beauty of natural fibres, dyes and the joy of upcycling, demonstrating how fashion can place the health of the planet at its centre.
Wear My Wardrobe Out
Two pieces crafted from vintage bed sheets, hospital curtains and upholstery remnants.
Studio Kuhu
A naturally dyed bamboo “silk” kimono and an uncycled linen dress dyed and hand painted.
Worn to Threads
Jacket and a pair of matching trousers of reclaimed textiles.
Credit: Studio Kuhu
Sophie Bowen
Hand embroidered kimonos with naturally dyed kid mohair/silk yarns
Ria Burns
Indigo dyed wrap scarf
Public Footpath
Harvest light top (repurposed communion gown, silk organza strike offs, hand embroidery)
Homegrown at Hampen
Knitted vest using locally grown & spun Devon Closewool yarn, made by Ossian Knitwear
CATWALK
Set to the backdrop of the voices of the Oak Choir , we’ll showcase a selected number of outfits inspired by our theme for the evening. With style curation from Lauren Reed and a team of student volunteers from South Gloucestershire & Stroud College on hair and make up.
Credit: TAMMAM Atelier
ONE DRESS: PLANET, by Tammam Atelier
The evening finale will showcase the One Dress: PLANET from the Tammam Atelier.
A collaborative couture project that connects creators and consumers, and challenging the way we buy fashion. Instead of selling many replicas of one design, as regular fashion collections, the project offers the opportunity to customers to own a small piece of one couture gown. Small embroideries of diverse plant species, from different ecosystems and environments, endangered because of human destruction, can be purchased and added to the evolving garment. These bespoke hand stitched embroideries, made by artisans who are credited alongside the owner on the One Dress register. Revealed for the first time as part of London Fashion Week at St James's Church Piccadilly, this impactful piece has been created to start conversations about ecocide and the need for legislation to protect our planet.
Credit: Worn to Threads
Credit: Wear My Wardrobe Out
MAKERS’ MARKET
A selection of makers and independent designers who demonstrate an alternative fashion industry.
THE BRISTOL SMOCK
What do you feel connected to through your clothes?
We’ll be inviting people to share what they feel connected to through their clothing in this interactive collaborative textile art piece exhibited on the evening.
Add your thoughts by writing on a swing tag, pinning it to the dress and adding your wish for fashion of the future.
The Bristol Smock was originally created in 2022 by Sustainable Fashion Week and a range of community organisations and groups local to Bristol to explore Bristol culture and identity. Key partners included Public Footpath, Highgrove Traditional Craft and the Bristol Waste Company.
Credit: Amelia Twine
THE POEM CARDS
We’ve selected a handful of poems that explore clothing, and our connection to it, in different ways.
We’ll share these poems in print on the night, and we’re inviting attendees to talk to each other throughout the evening to swap the cards with the others to find your favourite!
INFORMATION STALLS
Information on a range of topics relating to living and consuming more sustainably will be available throughout the evening. Find practical tips to live more harmoniously with the world around you and your clothing, places to source organic and certified fabrics and learn more about local initiatives taking place from the following organisations:
