Hope as a pedagogical tool and goal was inspired by what I saw in the Dutch design world, and other like-minded designers and thinkers around the globe. Initially I approached it mostly through assignments which focused on solving problems: some silly (design a house for three people who always hold hands, always), and some were more serious (design clothing for the world you want). The idea was to disrupt assumptions about the way the world works. But this is the first course where awakening student’s hope for a better world was a clear goal. The following ways of looking at hope came in reflection, as I looked back trying to parse my methods and ideas. If you have read some of the other blog entries, you can see the origins of many of these ideas.
Again, the list is:
Hope from Knowing What Came Before
Hope from Autonomy: The Power of Handwork
Hope from the Ethics of Care
Hope through a Community of Minds
Hope through Doing: the Future is Now
Hope from knowing what came before
History is written by the winners, and they like it that way. Winning and power go hand in hand, so to talk about those who successfully disrupt power and its narratives is often forgotten. As I often point out in class, knowing what is not there is as important as knowing what is there. It’s often more important. As to the historical side of industry and history of clothing, that helps us see where the current situation came from.
We know more about Zara and H&M’s greenwashing campaigns than we know about Fashion for Good’s and Fibershed’s work to show the way towards more ethical methods of creating and consuming. We know stereotypes of modern luddites as being technologically inept, but little about the original luddites whose ethics led them to protest machinery that not just took jobs but killed children. We know clothing is often dyed with chemicals that ruin water for millions, but not that there are less-toxic alternatives that were used for centuries, often sourced in our own backyards. Looking deeply at our histories and listening to sources often ignored can help us understand where we are and reveal forgotten methods to us. Traditional methodologies can change the future.
Hope from Autonomy: The Power of Handwork
In past blogs I have written about the power of working with your hands (link). In the past I theorized that with the removal of many shop classes in the schools, kids were starving for handwork. I see making as a basic human need, tied to the idea of play. The “maker” movement and resurgence of knitting seemed to be a replacement for those classes. After the pandemics, I saw the need for hands-on work grow. Kids had spent the pandemic in the digital realms and were hungry for hands-on experiences. It wasn’t just filling a void, but it became therapeutic for many.
Working with your hands provides not just a pleasurable experience, but one that is meditative; you are seeing what is in front of you while the rest of the world fades for a while. It can give you a sense of accomplishment, as well as a sense of autonomy. After sewing my first pajama pants, my first thought was “I will never buy pajamas again!” While the outer world tries to sell you something made cheaply, you can repair damaged garments. You can use your own, less processed, or even repurposed materials. You can defy the “rules” and (un)ethical choices of fast fashion. You can move things in a direction that is steered by your own ethics. You don’t have to wait for the slow pace of the industry to make changes, but you can immediately choose to act based on your ethics and aesthetics. You can leave fast fashion (and others) behind in the dust!
Acting on hope can be an energizing form of subversion.
(insert pic of Aunt Mary sewing)
Hope from the Ethics of Care
Another assumption we challenged was that certain ethics are counter to making money and clothing on a large scale. Honestly, even large scale manufacturing is assumed to somehow be better or needed! The history of industrialization is riddled with stories of machines and scale over humans in the pursuit of monetary goals. I remember my 5 year old outrage at the injustice of man vs. machine when listening to Pete Seeger sing John Henry, and my views haven’t really changed. But does an economy based on monetary goals alonehave to be a given? Isn’t it time we talked about the economy of care as not being antithetical to the economy of money? And to question scale? I value the sweater my grandmother made for me more than the famous brand dress precisely because of the care put into it. Why is care disregarded in manufacturing? Why is it assumed it doesn’t matter or it’s a hinderance? Again and again we see that people are happy to pay more when they know something is ethical, (link to t shirt euro thing) that humans at the making end were cared for a bit more. And as consumers, how do we express we care for the makers?
Joanna van der Zanden spoke to repair as a way to honor those who originally made the garment. The idea that we can act in ways that honors the work others do is not insignificant. It is natural for us to care for each other. Students already care about the ethics of making and were ready to challenge the assumptions we have about the economies of creating.
"The economy of hope has the potential to transform society from within."
Hope through a Community of Minds
When watching the news, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, to feel “what can one person do in the face of injustice or environmental damage?” It’s important to be with others who are not just asking the same questions, but who are seeking accountability, and working to provide viable alternatives. The class was a community with similar passions. Exposing them to other like-minded communities shows them that they are not alone in wanting a more just world. Communities are places where we can learn from each other, feed off of creative energies, collaborate on and share ideas, tools, information, and give moral support. The visits we undertook in the course touch upon the importance of community in some way.
Hope through Doing: the Future is Now
Despite having a menu of manufacturing, we can challenge those ways and forge new paths that are more ethical, humane, and efficient. A great place for these experimentations to happen is in the lab and in the studio. Most of the interesting materials and methods that I saw were artists/designers working with scientists to play with creating new materials. In communities of like-minded people, saying “there has to be another way”, unlimited by the way things have been done up to this point. It’s not just empowering to forge new methods, but honestly it’s fun.
As we know, the common narrative from the news is that we can’t fight the inevitable. The powers that be are too powerful and too entrenched in their hold on power. While there are truths to the lack of willingness to change for the common good, it is not true that this is our fate. It can and is being challenged and subverted. And it can be fun as well.
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