A020
"zero-waste" design system to reform the fashion industry
Royal College of Art graduate Danielle Elsener has created a toolkit to help fashion designers reduce waste and save "an insane amount of money" through more efficient pattern cutting. The project consists of a system of tools and workshops that aims to eliminate the 15 per cent of material wasted in the production of an average garment. At the basis of A020 is a set of pattern masters, that help designers approach a piece of fabric like a puzzle, in which any empty space can serve a purpose within the finished garment. Around these tools, Elsener created a series of workshops that are used to educate other designers on her methodology as well as to collect feedback on how the masters and the system can be improved. For her graduate collection, called Circling the Square, Elsener used the A020 system to create menswear pieces that visually showcase the design process through which they were made.