Scotch Reports Issue 178 (December 2020)

TORRENS PARK CAMPUS
Fashion’s Next Generation
South Australia has been a melting pot
for talented fashion, design and textile
creatives in recent years, with some of the
country’s biggest labels starting off right
here in our state. At Scotch, we aim to
nurture and refine this talent with a grassroots
fashion program aimed at giving our
students the tools to become the next
great Australian fashion designers.
With a focus on design and the creation
of garments that solve problems, students
tackle issues surrounding sustainability in
fashion, investigate the origins of garments,
and the importance of sourcing local
products and natural fibres. Traditional
dressmaking techniques and skills such as
sewing, embroidery, patchwork and tie dye
are also explored.
Sustainability and fast fashion have
become familiar terms, and in the world of
fashion they have never been so relevant.
Environmentally conscious designers
globally are focusing on quality over
quantity, and this trend is the central
learning discipline of the Scotch program.
The students discover ways of creating
wearable items that are sustainable,
while addressing their need to be actively
making change in response to the issues
surrounding fast fashion.
One of the big considerations when it
comes to reducing consumers’ reliance on
fast fashion is multiple-use garments. Year
12 student Tess Bolnar, who has already
been accepted into the London College of
Fashion in 2021, has made a multi-purpose
outfit that consists of four garments in one.
“Fashion waste is a large contributor to
Australian landfill due to the manufacturing
of fast fashion,” says Tess. “Social media
plays a large part in this problem as it
is normal to wear an outfit just once for
a post.”
The use of sustainable materials is also a
key focus for students, ensuring garments
are eco-friendly and biodegradable. Annika
Jones (Year 12), chose to make a unique
Halloween costume to address the vast
volume of throw-away costumes made of
plastic. “I decided that there needed to
be more sustainable alternatives in the
costume world,” says Annika.
Mia Osborne tackled the challenge
of finding alternatives to chemically
dyed materials. Mia made an organic
tie-dye t-shirt using brown onions and
blueberries. The investigative process
included experimenting with different food
products to see which foods produced the
best colours, as well as experimenting with
sample fabrics to find optimal applications.
Starting in Year 9, students at Scotch
are able to enrol in Textiles Technology,
a subject that aims to challenge the
boundaries of traditional textiles
education. Here, students use traditional
and digital technologies to design and
create their own individual projects, which
eventually make it onto the runway at a
series of shows, including the annual APEX
Australia Teenage Fashion Awards.
As well as being a place where students
are able to learn the basics, such as
sewing, garment construction and fabric
decoration, greater autonomy in senior
years encourages industry networking
and important industry links. Several past
graduates of this program have gone on
to further study at the prestigious London
College of Fashion.
JODI MONRO
Textiles Technology Teacher
Feature Tess Bolnar working on her multipurpose
outfit.
STARTING IN YEAR NINE, STUDENTS AT
SCOTCH ARE ABLE TO ENROL IN TEXTILES
TECHNOLOGY, A SUBJECT THAT AIMS
TO CHALLENGE THE BOUNDARIES OF
TRADITIONAL TEXTILES EDUCATION.
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