Term
Definition
Sustainable Fashion Application
Aesthetics
Aesthetic Autonomy vs. Instrumentality
Whether aesthetics should be valued for themselves or serve ethical/social purposes.
Phoebe English deliberately designs 'ugly beautiful' garments to prioritise zero-waste cutting methods over purely pleasing aesthetics.
Anthropocene Aesthetics
A design movement highlighting environmental collapse and post-human futures through fashion.
"Waste as Resource" - Celebrating Imperfection and Transformation. "Degradation as Design" - Embracing Decay and Impermanence eg A garment whose fibers are engineered to slowly decompose in a compost environment, and whose aesthetic reflects that natural process through textures or visual cues. Or, designs that feature elements that visibly age and acquire patina, encouraging a longer-term relationship with the garment rather than immediate disposal. "Biomimicry and Geological Textures" - Learning from Nature's Processes and Scars. "Systemic Visibility" - Making the Invisible Visible eg a piece of digital fashion that visually changes based on real-time environmental data, or a physical garment with subtle patterns that are actually data visualizations of water consumption during its production.
Affect Theory
How fashion provokes emotions and bodily responses beyond rational interpretation.
Labels like RÆBURN design reconstructed military garments to create emotional responses around survival, history, and resourcefulness.
Beauty
Classical theories of proportion, harmony, and pleasure in visual experience.
Stella McCartney’s couture designs promote 'natural beauty' using organic silks, challenging the idea that only synthetic glamour is beautiful.
Camp and Kitsch
Ironic or exaggerated aesthetics, often embracing 'bad' taste deliberately.
Collina Strada uses chaotic colour schemes and DIY energy to ironically critique over-consumption, aligning camp style with sustainable protest.
Eco-Aesthetics
Artistic practices that prioritise ecological responsibility in beauty and form.
Designers like Bode centre slow handcrafts and visible mending as eco-aesthetic values, rejecting mass production and promoting longevity beauty.
Phenomenology of Clothing
The lived, sensory experience of wearing garments.
Patagonia focuses on how sustainable clothing *feels* durable, breathable, and empowering for outdoor performance, linking body and ethics.
Postmodern Aesthetics
Fragmentation, irony, and multiplicity rather than singular meanings.
Marine Serre’s 'Futurewear' reassembles used garments into futuristic hybrids, mocking singular luxury narratives and celebrating plurality.
Semiotics of Fashion
Reading clothes as signs within a cultural system.
Stella McCartney’s sustainable logo-wear pieces visibly signal ecological ethics as part of brand identity and customer storytelling.
Taste and Cultural Relativity
Taste is shaped by education, class, and cultural position.
Brands like Story mfg. challenge Eurocentric tastes by featuring hand-dyeing and crafts from non-Western traditions as luxurious, not rustic.
The Sublime
A feeling of awe, wonder, or overwhelming power often connected to nature.
Mara Hoffman's nature-inspired collections evoke awe for the Earth, encouraging respect and ecological awareness through visual narratives.
Design Principles
Balance
The distribution of visual weight in a garment for stability or interest (symmetrical, asymmetrical).
Marine Serre uses asymmetrical cuts made from upcycled textiles, achieving visual balance while showcasing fabric reuse.
Colour Theory
Using colours intentionally for mood, communication, and sustainability.
The North Face’s limited Earth Day capsule used only undyed or plant-dyed fibres to reduce water use and chemical pollution.
Contrast
Combining opposing elements (light/dark, rough/smooth) to create tension.
Bethany Williams contrasts bold recycled material panels with neutral deadstock fabrics to dramatise the story of reuse.
Emphasis and Focus
Drawing attention to a specific part of the design.
Patagonia highlights functional features (like reinforced seams or organic cotton patches) that also signal environmental durability.
Harmony and Unity
Ensuring all design elements work together coherently.
Mara Hoffman uses harmonious botanical prints on biodegradable fabrics, aligning visual and material coherence with sustainable values.
Line and Silhouette
Outlines and shapes that define the overall garment form.
Veja designs sneakers with sleek, timeless silhouettes to extend their lifecycle beyond seasonal trends, avoiding wasteful fast fashion cycles.
Movement and Flexibility
How the garment moves with the body and environment.
Outerknown designs surfwear with stretch from recycled fishing nets, maintaining flexibility for movement while reducing ocean waste.
Proportion and Scale
The size relationships between elements in a design.
Stella McCartney carefully proportions oversized jackets using low-impact fabrics to reflect luxury without overusing material.
Rhythm and Repetition
Using repeated elements to create movement and interest.
Eileen Fisher’s Renew line repeats minimalist cuts to allow garments to be repaired, resold, and incorporated into circular design loops.
Texture and Fabric Choice
The tactile and visual surface quality of a material.
Pangaia focuses on natural, innovative textures like seaweed fiber blends to offer eco-friendly, unique garment feels.
