Community Spotlight
Defashion Dorset: Rural Makers Reclaiming Their Clothing Culture
OC.M spotlights voices from Dorset's emerging local clothing culture
by Sara Arnold
Photos and film by Immo Klink
The annual Defashion Dorset event was held on 24th and 25th May 2024 at Hawker’s Farm, Dorset. More info here: hawkersfarm.org
About the event
Jenny Morisetti brought defashioning to Dorset for the first time in May 2023 inspired by the activist group Fashion Act Now (FAN), of which she is a member. FAN coined the somewhat controversial neologism (1) Defashion, as a ‘missile word’ (2) against the growth-based Fashion System but also as a call for joyful, thriving clothing cultures that nurture people and the planet. The event has shown that defashion in practice isn’t controversial at all. It brings together members of the Dorset community, local sheep and alpaca farmers, fibre producers, clothing makers, and fashion activists, creating a collaborative space for discussion, learning, and collective action. Now having completed its 2nd edition and looking towards its third, Defashion Dorset is a testament to the power of local action in the global movement for alternative fashion systems rooted in people and place.
We spoke to participants at the event about what local clothing culture means to them. Listen to: yarn and knitting expert, Marina Skua; Thea Batty, curator, educator and repair specialist; Laura Basevi, who upcycles antique textiles; Dr. Kirsten Scott, Head of Research at Istituto Marangoni London; Dr. Sandra Niessen, one of the event's speakers, who travelled to Dorset from the Netherlands.
Degrowth academic Serge Latouche asks that we “reimagine the market as a space that calls upon us as citizens, that appeals to our sense of civil obligation and participation rather than to our “economic rationality””(3). Taking inspiration from markets in Africa and the Agora of Ancient Greece, he proposed that markets become a meeting place for the community as well as a place for debate, calling on people to act as citizens rather than consumers. Defashion Dorset could be said to recreate Latouche’s idea of the Agora for these 2 days.
Attendees enjoyed browsing stalls selling second hand and upcycled clothing, sheep and alpaca wool, mending kits, knitting patterns and also some ready made garments created from locally sourced fibres. They could also attend demonstrations and workshops teaching skills such as felting, natural dying, lace making, shibori, visible mending and even dorset button making. There were plenty of inspiring talks and discussions, delicious homemade food to enjoy and above all, the sense of conviviality.
In terms of discussion, the 2023 edition of Defashion Dorset saw regenerative fashion expert Elizabeth Keach speak, as well as dress and fashion historian Rachel Worth, who specialises in rural, working class and non-elite dress. This year, in 2024, we heard from fashion ecologist and textile systems expert, Zoe Gilbertson; Fibre Artist and Poet, Julia Desch; and Lynne Franks, renowned broadcaster and fashion PR consultant turned campaigner for women in enterprise, who spoke in conversation with Cultural Anthropologist, Sandra Niessen from the Netherlands. Many participants also attended an assembly hosted by Fashion Act Now. Dr. Kirsten Scott, Head of Research at Istituto Marangoni London, who attended from London said, “there’s so many highlights, but some key takeaways were the Fashion Act Now workshop and an amazing talk by Julia Desch, who shared her vast experience of rearing Wensleydale sheep and the wonderful properties of their fleece.”
"Defashion Dorset demonstrates we don’t need the institutions of Big Fashion"
Defashion Dorset demonstrates we don’t need the institutions of Big Fashion - the Fashion conglomerates and industry bodies that dictate new styles of clothing using influencers and advertising, and from ‘Fashion Capitals’ via ‘Fashion Weeks’. It decentralises fashion and empowers local makers, particularly women, to forge their own path as part of a fashion pluriverse. It follows degrowth common senses: local rural people can reuse, repair and upcycle, as well as engage with local small batch, slow, regenerative, farm-to-closet production. While the fashion industry profiteers from brand equity, it is much more natural and human to share skills, techniques and pattern designs as convivial, commons-based practice. Alice Holloway, founder of the London Urban Textile Commons who attended with her family said, “Defashion Dorset is perfectly pitched to empower the community as a pivot point in transforming one of the most damaging industries on the planet. These events give us hope that the desire for change is out there, and that all of us have a part in building a regenerative future.”
What we witnessed at Hawker’s Farm was a locality finding its feet in terms of a local, unique, thriving fashion, clothing and textile culture. The UK is one of the birthplaces of the industrial colonial capitalist fashion system that has come to dominate clothing culture around the world, eroding and erasing other cultures. In this process, it eroded and erased much of its own clothing culture too. Local know-how, skills and customs are no longer being passed down to the next generation. Consumerism is a given. A collective sense of identity, on the whole, has been lost. But here, people gathered, yearning to cultivate a real and unique sense of culture that belongs to local people and landscape. When so many events outside of the Fashion capitals try to imitate the monolithic vernacular of Fashion, here we see people forging another path - both progressive and traditional.
We spoke to a number of Londoners who’d come for the weekend, some camping on the grounds, who were amazed at what they found at Hawkers Farm. “I had not realised how many people are working to reimagine and Defashion fashion in so many creative ways and Dorset appears to be a hotbed,” said Dr Kirsten Scott. We caught up with Alexander Whitton who came not knowing what to expect and was astounded at the local skill, authenticity and originality that, in his view, outshone what he comes across in London. He paraded the billowing sleeves of his new purchase from BlueBarn.Life, a Dorset based collective producing in ultra-small batches or for pre-order using Irish linen and discarded materials.
"The sense of being on the cusp of a wave was almost palpable."
Above all, the event brought like-minded people together. Zoe Gilberson said, “I loved the sense of possibility that was generated by people with common values having conversations, sharing their work and learning from each other. The value of spaces that facilitate these spontaneous but necessary discussions can never be underestimated.” Dr. Sandra Niessen spoke about the event saying, “The sense of being on the cusp of a wave was almost palpable. This movement building an alternative to the alienating clothing industry is rising. It appears to be culminating in an urgent, common need to connect, to move forward together. And isn’t that what the change will be all about? Fostering and building new relationships. Deepening and strengthening our ties with each other. Precisely this will make the homegrown clothing of the future so much more satisfying than what we currently know.”
Meet the Makers at Defashion Dorset
Thea Batty
Thea views her practice as a social practice and a form of gentle protest. The Welsh curator, educator, and fashion repair specialist ran visible mending workshops at Defashion Dorset. Check out her website here
Moa Parup
Graphic Designer and activist, Moa, of Not Here To Be Liked agency wears jacket from vintage clothing reseller Joanna Jacobs who exhibited at Defashion Dorset
Marina Skua
Marina believes craft and creativity are empowering. She sells yarn, hand dyed British wool tops for spinning and felting and her own knitting patterns and kits. Her yarns are spun in small mills in the UK and she uses considerate dye practices. Check out here website here
Kat Bazeley
Kat is the founder of BlueBarn.Life. She works with a group of local makers to design and craft items from reclaimed fabrics and Irish linen, all under the roof of School House Farm in Dorset
Laura Basevi
Fashion designer Laura, an exhibitor at Defashion Dorset, reinvents old garments and upcycles antique textiles. Check out her website here
More about Hawker’s Farm
In addition to Defashion Dorset, Jenny hosts gatherings and workshops at her Hawker’s Re-Creatives to teach the community about visible mending, embroidery, and the joy of a clothes library where outfits can be borrowed and shared. The movement's momentum also expands at the Dorset COP, the first-ever community-led Conference Of the Parties. Dorset COP, which was held September 9, 2023, brought together the local community in urgent action to combat climate change.
Location: Dorset, England, UK
Website: www.hawkersfarm.org
This article was made possible through the support of the Naturesave Trust. The Naturesave Trust is funded by the activities of Naturesave Insurance which donates 10% of its annual personal insurance premiums to environmental and conservation projects supporting grassroot organisations through a variety of funds.
References
Niessen, S. Defining Defashion: A Manifesto for Degrowth, International Journal of Fashion Studies, Volume 9, Issue Decolonizing Fashion as Process, Oct 2022, p. 439 - 444
Demaria, F., Schneider, F., Sekulova, F. and Martinez-Alier, J., 2013. What is degrowth? From an activist slogan to a social movement. Environmental values, 22(2), pp.191-215
Fournier, V., 2008. Escaping from the economy: the politics of degrowth. International journal of sociology and social policy.
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