Following the successful launch in May 2023, Defashion Dorset 2024, is scheduled for Friday 24th and Saturday 25th of May as part of Dorset Art Weeks. Founder, Jennifer Morisetti, member of Fashion Act Now (FAN) and participant in Sustainable Fashion Week, is on a mission to promote a sustainable clothing culture.
The event brings together local sheep and alpaca farmers, fibre producers, clothing makers and educators. FAN’s Sara Arnold was a speaker last year, together with regenerative fashion expert Elizabeth Keach and dress and fashion historian Prof Rachel Worth, AUB. This year Defashion Dorset will welcome Lynne Franks OBE, renowned broadcaster and fashion PR consultant turned campaigner for women in enterprise, in discussion with members of FAN, including Cultural Anthropologist Dr. Sandra Niessen from the Netherlands.
(Jennifer has been passionate about making, wearing and teaching fashion for decades and hopes to reignite your passion for knitting or sewing, or introduce you to a new embellishing technique to prolong and enhance the life of a favourite item of clothing. Now is the time to turn away from fast fashion and instead to value and appreciate something that has been lovingly created with natural fibres and that will last.)
A packed programme including; demonstrations of natural dyeing, lace making, preparing a fleece and spinning, panel discussions including the latest research from HereWear (making fibre from seaweed) and flax production and an opportunity to take part in a Fashion Assembly hosted by FAN. Workshops offering traditional skills of shibori, felting, knitting, crochet, Dorset button making and mending can be booked in advance. Stalls showcasing fibre producers and makers include; BlueBarn Life, Tamarisk Farm, Woolcraft with Wensleydale, Snooks Farm Alpacas, Henry’s Buttons, Marina Skua, Made by Jules and Townhill Studio. A stepping-stone to a local clothing culture is second hand and upcycled clothing which will be on sale from; Laura Basevi, Joanna Jacobs, Vintage Maid, Catherine Potter and Second to None.
Following the two-day event there will be an exhibition, Adornment: Creative uses of fibre, to view body adornment from a local perspective. Viewers will be inspired by imaginative ways to embellish and rework existing clothing. There will be a programme of workshops throughout the two weeks for adults and children.
In addition to the event in May, Jennifer hosts gatherings and workshops at Hawker’s Re-Creatives to teach visible mending, embroidery, and the joy of a clothes library where outfits can be borrowed.
Defashion Dorset will be held on 24th and 25th May 2024 at Hawker’s Farm, Stour Provost SP8 5LZ. Tickets are £5 www.hawkersfarm.org