ZERO WASTE FASHION

Every year, 85% of textiles in the US are discarded, amounting to about 14 million tons of textiles, with 95% being recyclable yet not being disposed of properly. Fast fashion's relentless trend cycles fuel this waste despite having enough currently existing clothing to last the next six generations. Discarded clothing takes over 200 years to decompose, releasing harmful chemicals into the water supply.

The 0 Waste Jacket is crafted from unsalvageable fabrics, cut into small pieces, sandwiched between organza and cotton, quilted, and sewn together. This project highlights the importance of sustainable fashion choices.

Awards and Displays:

First Place in Apparel Design, Art in Isolation Art Show, Memorial Union, 2021
Displayed at Sustainapalooza, 2022
First Place in Sustainability, Iowa State Fashion Show, 2022
Exhibit at Morrill Hall, April-December 2022

Inspired by this project, Anka launched the "Be An Outfit Repeater" campaign, advocating for responsible fashion consumption.

So good! Hits so many trends happening right now. Quilted jackets are everywhere this season and this one stands out. Love the attention to detail with how the colors are used throughout the piece, looks labor intensive and well executed. It could have easily looked like a craft project and it does not.

Erin Pepe - Vice President of Digital and Customer Experience for SMCP
Color is beautiful and I like the story behind it!

Christopher Dove - Senior Designer of Women’s Accessories for Target
Good interpretation of inspiration within the jacket!

Kathleen Heiden - Associate Professor and Program development Chair at Louisiana Tech
This jacket is absolutely on trend and relevant from the quilting to the sustainability factor. As a merchant, I would assort this jacket for a Spring season in an elevated door as it would appeal to an informed customer and is incredibly wearable. I appreciated the name as a play on the materials used as well as describing the model of the jacket. This could be an entire marketing story! The design choices were all well appreciated - the cotton lining is comfortable for the wearer, and the quilted lines are in line with the quilted trends.

Amanda Hendricks - Senior Director of Merchandising for Ralph Lauren

IT ALL STARTED WITH AN IDEA.

THEN, IT WAS ENTERED IN AN ART GALLERY.

ART IN ISOLATION | 2021 | FIRST IN APPAREL DESIGN

AND ANOTHER ONE!

SUSTAINAPALOOZA 2021

THEN, IT WAS ENTERED IN THE FASHION SHOW 2022!

THE FASHION SHOW 2022 | FIRST IN SUSTAINABILITY

AND THEN WAS IN NEW EXHIBIT

MORRILL HALL FASHION SHOW EXHIBITION AWARD WINNERS

WHICH BRINGS US TO THE CAMPAIGN

BE AN OUTFIT REPEATER

Be an Outfit Repeater campaign started with shirts being thrifted and then sewn into tote bags. A stamp with the mantra was hand carved and put onto the tote bags. The twenty bags were handed out with a flyer that took people to the website that contained information about sustainable fashion and how to live it out in Ames, IA. The project was then expanded to a living magazine cover, blending fine arts and graphic design to make a statement: clothing should be approached as art. This project could have been done digitally, but Anka wanted to emphasize "slow fashion" and how art can't be mass-produced quickly. Everything you see here was reused from old projects—the paint, the textured paper background, a kitchen stool, and the recycled fabric for the poncho. Art supplies are all around us; we just need to keep our eyes open.