Consumption & Fashion with Studio Leesun
Consumption of Heritage by Studio Leesun
The fashion industry, like many others, struggled throughout 2020. According to the McKinsey report, the global fashion industry's profits are expected to fall by -93% in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an economic crisis resulting in major brands closing stores and the vast reduction of sales.
Retailers initially increased purchasing for 2020, expecting even higher sales growth than 2019. And yet today we see that retailers are having difficulty maintaining stock levels in their stores and online.
According to Forbes, an "Unpaid Billions" report, co-authored by the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) and the Penn State Center for Global Workers' Rights, estimates a total of $40 billion in unpaid orders that have been manufactured in developing countries. The report makes clear brands' unethical business during the pandemic, which could trigger a humanitarian crisis.
The fashion industry employs approximately 3.4 million people worldwide, 430 million of whom work in textiles. The majority of workers in the clothing sector are women. Given the ongoing global crisis, vulnerable people in these situations are likely to be the ones who suffer the most.
With thousands of supplier factories closed, either temporarily or permanently, the factories that have reopened since then have also experienced reductions in their labour capacity. Those who are still in employment in the second quarter of 2020 have seen a decline in their earnings and wage arrears. Thus, since the beginning of the crisis, the sector workers have been disproportionately affected - further exacerbating pre-existing inequalities.
Although many predict a slow recovery or a radical change in the market, the fashion industry seeks to recover these numbers and return to business as usual. Under increasing pressure on performance, changing consumer behaviour and accelerating demand for digital access, it appears imperative that the industry acts decisively now in order to prepare for the coming years and accelerate a global recovery.
But the fashion industry has long faced structural issues, mainly because it is one of the major polluters of natural resources around the world and has poor working conditions, with significant ethical issues.
Despite this degradation situation, the textile sector has mobilised to become more transparent and combat slave and child labour, increase worker safety, decrease the use of toxic chemicals, and ensure all workers' dignity throughout the production chain. Fashion leaders and recognised industry voices are also still seeking solutions to address the climate crisis, and they hope to find better agricultural practices to reduce water and pesticide consumption creating a more sustainable industry. But, as we have seen throughout the pandemic, the sector still has much to improve.
While it is crucial to improve the fashion industry, society has an essential role in these challenges. Can we rightfully continue with our overconsumption of goods?
How can we rebuild the fashion market, supply chain and the economy more sustainably if we still follow the consumption model that leads to a majority of environmental and social issues?
In the middle of the pandemic, we spoke to Sun Lee, a Korean textile artist and social designer based in Amsterdam. The Studio Leesun founder questioned the fashion industry with the project "Consumption of Heritage" in 2019. Sun Lee created a unique collection with biodegradable Hansan Mosi fabric and Hanji paper, traditional Korean materials. The designer was interested in bringing the craft back into our consumer society, making it relevant to our modern lifestyle where she brought culture and sustainability to the collection.
Consumption of Heritage, 2018 - 2019
Sun Lee, thank you for speaking with me.
How did you find leaving Korea to come and study at the Design Academy Eindhoven in the Social Design department?
I was running my own fashion brand called ALEELANG from 2010 till 2016. It was a small designer brand but working well. My clothes were sold in many on-off line shops and exported to Paris and Moscow. One day when my clothes were sold at the department store, I suddenly realised the insurmountable number of clothes that were being displayed, mine included. Behind the beautiful show windows, I realised how clothes were nothing but layers of fabric that overflow and get thrown out once the season passes. All of a sudden, I began to feel skeptical about the fashion industry. Afterward I decided to come to the Netherlands to study social design.
Consumption of Heritage, 2018 - 2019
You've previously stated that "Today, we live in an overabundance of goods in our consumer society. This is especially true in the fashion industry. Fast fashion brands churn out clothes made with cheap materials and persuade quick responses to their products to maintain rapid rates of consumption, providing immediate satisfaction at a low cost. However, with only 1% of these clothes being recyclable, the poor quality and low sustainability of fast fashion lead to massive ethical and environmental issues". Nowadays, the awareness that we need to slow down the pace of excessive consumption is growing. Do you think that design plays an essential role in solving this problem?
Companies are striving to bring brand value to sustainable fashion and to put a positive image on consumers' minds. It is truly a marketing strategy that is directed towards consumers who want to consume and the society that demands moral awareness and social responsibility. Many experts advise consumers to buy less, fix clothing, and choose wisely. However within this capitalistic and mammonistic society, what the experts describe is a utopia. In a situation where successful options rarely are available, we live in a transition that encourages consumers to act 'sustainably'. Who invented synthetic fibers and made clothes from them? Who made clothes available to consumers? As a designer and producer, I believe that we should offer an alternative solution before we hold the consumer accountable through our design.
Consumption of Heritage is an invitation to reflect on the current state of fashion and to imagine solutions for sustainable craft.
In your opinion, can fashion ever become sustainable? What is the purpose of craftsmanship in this complexed global challenge?
Our behaviour towards consuming fashion is slightly different to other industries. We buy clothes in a more compulsive way. Sometimes we buy them to deal with our stress or due to the changing trends and so on. Everyone can enjoy fashion so some people call it the democracy of fashion. In the past, clothes prices were too high for everyone to enjoy. But due to the cheap material and labour the clothes prices went down when other costs went up. If we do not change our current behaviour of consuming fashion, I believe that it will fail to become sustainable. However, designers need to change first, we need to consider the impact of our design and offer many choices of sustainable design.
I believe that we should bring craftsmanship in the centre of the conversation to preserve our cultural heritage and identity, giving more importance on the way it is produced and the scale of the production.
Inspired by Korean heritage, your project "Consumption of Heritage" proposes a new paradigm in production and consumption. Tell us more about how your project allows us to reflect on the current state of fashion. Do you have any suggestions for sustainable craftsmanship?
With this project I tried to bring crafts and techniques back, and reinterpret them in a new way by combining different techniques. For example, for the Ji-seung Vest I blend Korean traditional Ji-seung craft with a tapestry technique. So according to the techniques, clothes have different functions, textures, ways of wearing and lifespan.
I would say that this collection is based on 3 principles which are ephemerality, disposability and sustainability. Sustainability through disposability and ephemerality is an interesting approach to explore if we use the right material and context. That's why I make Hanji paper clothes that can be combined with the Hansan Mosi transformable coat.
Many people are asking how we can wear paper but actually, according to the techniques, you can wear it in a casual way. The padding for instance, has the function and characteristic of keeping heat. The laser cut jacket based on the traditional Korea pattern called '단청' is more delicate and fragile. I would say that it behaves as a disposable garment. Hanji paper is a both sustainable and disposable material that is very recyclable.
This means that materials and clothes can be thrown away in a more sustainable way. It also rethinks ways of consuming our heritage and bringing back the value of craft culture. And you can see, according to each material and technique, the outcomes of the clothes are really different as well as their functions.
CROSS: warp and weft - Exhibited at Crafts Council Nederland, HOW&WOW Linen during the Dutch Design Week 2020
The book "A Labour of Love" by Lidewij Edelkoort & Philip Fimmano remarks "Designers need to be morally and socially responsible for the consequences their ideas have on society, including environmental impact." Do you agree with this text? How can designers be more responsible for their work and impact?
I completely agree with that. I would say that the first step for every producer and designer would be to push themselves and question the entire journey of their products. Which material are we using, by who, how and where it is produced? It's about anticipating the impact of our works and questioning the environmental impact from the beginning of our creative process. It's a matter of being aware of the world we're living in.
Do you have a creative process? What is the importance of the material that you work with and its production technique?
My projects often began by analysing the characteristics and qualities of the materials and experiments techniques. This exploration is based on the relationship between the user and clothing, consumption and disposability. We need to respond to the current fashion industry by devising and proposing alternative but novel methods. It will be challenging to find and balance the intersection between consumption, traditional heritage, and social needs. Nonetheless, I believe that the right choice of materials combined with the right production techniques can transcend the sustainability riddle, to create a new paradigm for consumption.
Although my work is focussed on my native country's techniques and materials, I hope other cultures will be motivated to bring back their diminishing crafts into consumer society.
CROSS: warp and weft - Exhibited at Crafts Council Nederland, HOW&WOW Linen during the Dutch Design Week 2020
In your project "CROSS: warp and weft" Exhibited at Crafts Council Nederland, HOW&WOW Linen during the Dutch Design Week 2020 proposes a new dialogue between Korean and Dutch textile culture. What were the greatest challenges and solutions found in the fusion of two very different cultures through craftsmanship?
One of the main challenges was to build a bridge between both Korean and Dutch culture. To achieve this connection I first met Yeon-ok Bang who is an Intangible Cultural Property registered at UNESCO but also one of the last craftswomen able to produce Mosi thread and fabric. I had the chance to meet Yeon-ok Bang at her atelier in Hansan, South Korea to get a deeper understanding on the production of Mosi thread. Back in the Netherlands, I encountered the same challenge of finding an expert due to the diminishing number of hand spinning craftsmen using Dutch flex. Today, only a few master craftsmen are able to handspin Dutch flex in the Netherlands. I finally had the chance to contact and meet Gea van Dijk, visiting her atelier in Heerenveen, Netherlands. It was a long process to engage and visit both ateliers in Korea and the Netherlands, especially during the pandemic. However I believe that this human connection is truly important in order to bridge two cultures from different countries. It was an exciting journey.
Lots of world phenomena lead to interesting features and interactions. So I wanted to create a new perspective of time and space by weaving Korean Mosi and Dutch Flax into weft and warp threads. It also created new identities and techniques through this collaboration.
It was really challenging to weave with hand spun threads especially when they have different characters. I had to be more careful and try to understand their own tactile characters through my sense of touch. It was a really slow process but the vertical and horizontal meeting points embedded in the weaving process brought me a lot of emotion and an incredible feeling of the depth of history and the labour of the craftsman. It reminded me of the value of all human senses. The value of touch, the weight, the hand, the smell, the colour, the people behind those materials. The process of craft makes me aware of the scale, the physicality involved in it, and allows me to feel more connected through my body with what I am doing.
CROSS: warp and weft - Exhibited at Crafts Council Nederland, HOW&WOW Linen during the Dutch Design Week 2020
Would you have any advice for those starting a career in fashion design?
To me fashion is the reflection of current and future society. It's often one of the first places to see societal changes. Therefore we should be aware of the context we're living in, the positive impact it can bring. Environmental impact should therefore be one of the first criteria in our creative process.
Do you have any particular observations or advice on how to consume fashion in a more ethical and sustainable way?
Re-introducing the culture of crafts in a modern way through traditional techniques and materials is to me important for the future of sustainable fashion.
Past traditions have spurred innovation that we enjoy today.
Throughout human history, society has discovered and developed material, created tools and artifacts, and constructed itself in the process. Take a look around. From the clothes we wear to the vehicles we drive, everything that surrounds us consists of craft. The seemingly ordinary materials that often go by unnoticed are the materials in which our entire civilisation is based and made out of. This shows our present and also our future.
Craft is an event that starts with a physical sense of relationship between materials and people. This spirit and physicality are related not only to creative activities, but also to the foundation of human activity. It promotes our relation with nature, human activity and human being.
How do you see the future of fashion and craftsmanship?
In the past when there was no choice, crafts were part of daily life. Because of the industrialisation and globalisation of fashion, we have moved away from crafts. However in Korea, consumption through handcraft experiences is becoming popular. More and more people learn how to make their own fashion products in on-offline classes. I see this as a handcraft evolution. I think this could be a change due to the fatigue of the overdosed mass production.
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