CIRCULAR SPEEDS
Is slow always better than fast fashion?
Becky took part in cutting-edge research, organised by Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE) (2015-2019), which explored both super slow & ultra fast circular fashion. Her focus was on super-slow & a shirt that lasts 50 years. She also supported Swedish brands to make slow circular products.
Super Slow Fashion
Every shirt tells a story.
Becky’s Inaugural lecture in 2019 looks through her archive of twenty years of remaking second-hand polyester shirts, bringing them back to life, to discover the new slow design stories we need to write for the industry & for a more equitable circular society.
Ultra Fast Fashion
Why fast fashion should be even faster.
Recorded during Hybrid Talks in Stockholm in 2015, Becky gave a highly provocative 8-minute talk on why we need to design for circular speeds & not be afraid of looking more closely at what better fast fashion could be like within a circular future.
Fashionomics Programme
Following the short talk above, Becky reflects in much more detail here, about why we might want to look at ‘fast’ more closely, in this Swedish Fashion Councill & Veckans Affärer’s [Weekly Businesses] show, hosted by Ulf Skarin.
The Story of Seven Shirts
Design approaches shared through shirts.
Becky presents a collection of ‘Shirt Stories’ for a circular economy in fashion. She highlights different design approaches that others can pursue for themselves. Part of the ‘TCBL Days’ events.
The Hoxton Hotel: Hox How To
When logo culture boomed in the late 80s and 90s, ‘make and mend’ was shoved aside as shoppers jostled for high street steals - retailers were learning to mimic catwalk styles with increasing precision, and getting them on to rails at lightning speed. As part of the Hox How To: Shop Consciously (& Reduce your Fashion Footprint) night of panels, debate and sustainable shopping at The Hoxton, Holborn, we explored what we can we do to give the longest life to the pieces we love most, and to ensure we’re not part of the problem. Becky was part of a dynamic panel discussion celebrating ‘Fashion Revolution’, with Catarina Midby, Sustainability Manager for H&M and Han Ates, Founder of east London selvedge and raw denim brand Blackhorse Lane Ateliers.
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Watch: Faculti interview
Short film in which Becky describes the Mistra Future Fashion phase 2 research which explored fast & slow circular systems.
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Read: Circular Design Speeds
Report about the fast & slow concepts created as part of phase II of the Mistra Future Fashion research programme.
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Read: Everything That Went Wrong
Conference paper by Becky & Laetitia that reflects on all the things that were a challenge, during the making of the Service Shirt & Jacket. Part of the Mistra Future Fashion programme of reseach.
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Read: Designing Fast & Slow
Journal article which describes how Becky worked with designers to explore different circular product speeds.
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Listen: Black Neon Digital
Podcast interview in which Becky talks about circular fashion with Jodi Muter-Hamilton.
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Listen: Closing the Loop on Fashion, Magnifeco Radio, podcast interview
Becky chats to Kate Black about circular fashion - what it means & how to do it - in this 2017 podcast interview.
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Read: Circular Speeds Review
Circular Speeds: A Review of Fast & Slow Sustainable Design Approaches for Fashion & Textile Applications. Article in the Journal of Textile Design Research & Practice (2018).
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Read: Playing for time
Seven practice-led workshop tools for making design decisions to extend the life of fashion textile materials and products. Article that shows how tools can be used in workshops to redesign products within different lifecytcle speed frameworks.
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Read: Circular Design Speeds
Chapter by Kate, Becky & Kay about the basis for the circular speeds research they conducted for Mistra Future Fashion.
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Read: Circular Textile Design
‘Old Myths & New Models.’ Chapter by Becky & Kate which considers myths about a range of lifecycle speeds for fashion textile products.
