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Procedia CIRP 00 (2019) 000–000

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Procedia CIRP 00 (2019) 000–000
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www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia

ProcediaProcedia
CIRP 00CIRP
(2017)
84000–000
(2019) 1063–1068
www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia

29th CIRP Design 2019 (CIRP Design 2019)

29th CIRP Design 2019 (CIRP Design 2019)
From waste to fashion – a fashion upcycling contest
From 28th
waste
CIRPtoDesign
fashion – a fashion
Conference, upcycling
May 2018, contest
Nantes, France
António Dinis Marquesaa, Beatriz Moreiraaa, Joana Cunhaaa, Sofia Moreiraaa
A new 2C2T – Centro de Ciência e Tecnologia Têxtil, University of Minho, Campus de Azurém, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal
methodology to analyze
António Dinis Marques
a
theMoreira
, Beatriz functional
, Joanaand physical
Cunha architecture
, Sofia Moreira of
existing 2C2T
products for an assembly oriented product family identification
– Centro de Ciência e Tecnologia Têxtil, University of Minho, Campus de Azurém, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal
a

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +351918204280; fax: +351253510293. E-mail address: adinis@det.uminho.pt

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +351918204280; fax: +351253510293. E-mail address: adinis@det.uminho.pt
Paul Stief *, Jean-Yves Dantan, Alain Etienne, Ali Siadat
Abstract École Nationale Supérieure d’Arts et Métiers, Arts et Métiers ParisTech, LCFC EA 4495, 4 Rue Augustin Fresnel, Metz 57078, France
Abstract
Fashion industry has a huge environmental impact, with increasing consequences all around the world. It is clear that the fashion consumers and
*Fashion
Corresponding
industry
stakeholders author.
need has aTel.:
huge
to evaluate+33 3 87 37 status
present 54 30; impact,
environmental E-mail
quo, address:
according paul.stief@ensam.eu
with increasing
principlesconsequences all around
of sustainability the world.
and circular It is clear
economy. thateconomy
Circular the fashioncanconsumers and
be a guideline
stakeholders
for the fashion need to evaluate
industry, promoting status quo,
presentproduct according principles
development focused onofsustainable
sustainability and circular
products (e.g., economy. Circular
green products andeconomy can be a guideline
cleaner technologies) and
for the fashion
recyclability industry,
(e.g., upcyclingpromoting
and reuseproduct
of fibersdevelopment
from disposal focused on sustainable products (e.g., green products and cleaner technologies) and
clothes).
recyclability
Textile wastes, (e.g., upcycling
including and reuse
clothing of stocks
(retail fibers from disposalused
or personal clothes).
items) and fabrics (knitting, woven or non -woven industrial products) from
Abstract
Textile
differentwastes,
sources, including clothing
need to loose (retailimage
negative stocksachieving
or personal newused items) and
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and to(knitting,
become woven or non -woven
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the trendthe towards
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and highlightis unbroken.Project
the urgency Duetoby TAP.development,
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agile this, coming
and reconfigurable
increasing creativityfromandseveral
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fashion organizations,
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as well as to and
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product industryproduct
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analysis itmethods
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are needed. the designers
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of the known methods long
aimcoat
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analyze old textilesordesign
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a product from plane
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principles
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and metal
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Different belts
place as families,
among
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however, the may
designers
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family description
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focused inselection,
sustainable modelling,
approaches cutting,
and sewing and
circularity. Afinishing)
main will
outcome be presented,
of this as
contest well
was as
system. A new methodology is proposed to analyze existing products in view of their functional and physical architecture. The aim is to cluster fashions’
the media process
exposure design (ecodesign
obtained by the
and upcycling)
designers, focusedthe
including in television
sustainable approaches and circularity. AAmore
mainconscious
outcome fashion
of this consumer
contest was the information
media exposure obtained by the
these products in newinassembly oriented(RTP1)
product andfamilies
several websites.
for the optimization of existing assembly needs
lines and and knowledge
the creation of future about
reconfigurable
designers,
these topicsincluding
to demand in the
thistelevision
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from the andfashion
severalbrands.
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assembly
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to demand onconscience
Datum Flow fromChain, the physical
the fashion brands. structure of the products is analyzed. Functional subassemblies are identified, and
a functional analysis is performed. Moreover, a hybrid functional and physical architecture graph (HyFPAG) is the output which depicts the
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families B.V. design support to both, production system planners and product designers. An illustrative
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Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Keywords: sustainability; upcycling; fashion design; circular economy
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 28th CIRP Design Conference 2018.

Keywords: Assembly; Design method; Family identification

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 1064 António Dinis Marques et al. / Procedia CIRP 84 (2019) 1063–1068
2 Author name / Procedia CIRP 00 (2019) 000–000

business models can create positive impacts and/or reduce

negative impacts for the environment and society [4], being -
the people, of all ages and skills - in the center of the process
[1,4]. The textiles and fibrous materials are incorporated in
many products applied in different industries, with
environmental impact [5] during the textile process but also at
the end of product life cycle. Similar impacts are facing other
fashion industries as footwear and leather industries [6].
The Portuguese Airline Company TAP launched in 2018 a
contest focused in Upcycling with their textiles wastes from old
aircrafts. Fashion changes and trends can came from different
directions and be sourced from different places and entities [7].
Designers take inspiration from many sources and will put
imagination and creativity working to develop their prototypes Fig. 1. Moodboard.
and fashion concepts. This case study shows the design process
followed by two young fashion designers awarded in this
contest.
2.1. Experimental Design Process
2. Design Process
Get Away concept was designed for Fall/Winter 18/19 and
To participate in the contest Upcycling Project by TAP, was the main target was Experiencers according to the VALS
necessary a design process starting with problem identification (Values and Life Styles) classification. They are fashion-
and closing with a conceptual design product to submit forward, searching by conceptual items, out of fashion
following the fashion design methods proposed by McKelvey, mainstream as it is upcycling concepts. Starting from several
& Munslow [8]. The contest’s rules and conditions had three sketches, framed by the fabric supplied by TAP (only five
mandatory topics: design inspired in crew coats; a maximum meters) and the insertion of the metallic belt, with a common
fabric length of five meters; incorporation of a metallic belt in design language and having the crew coat as linkage (see
the final product. All the material applied in the fashion Fig.2).
products was from “wastes” used in commercial aircrafts from
TAP. The fashion design with this used materials can be an
interesting approach to environmental sustainability [3]. The
pyramid model presented by Hawley has the “conversion to
new products” of wastes (textile and clothing) as important tool
of textile recycling [9].
After a careful conditions analysis, was defined the
inspiration board by a concept brainstorming. The “Get Away”
project is a satiric approach to the fashion world, more
precisely to the fashion victims. It intends to express how the
consumer lives and breathes “fashion”, arrested in a world of
perennial change, where belonging to this tribe is critical to be
happy. This world closes their victims in a scheme where the
appearance and the consumerism are the basis of their attitudes
and actions.
The moodboard assumes two sides: a dark side, oppressive,
that imprisons, symbolized by the net and the dark hand; a
Fig. 2. Sketches.
coloured side, where the fashion consumer gets away the trends
and expresses itself freely (see Fig.1).
The chosen product to apply to the contest was a three-piece
set, with an asymmetric coat, with a voluminous collar and
sleeves, trouser-shorts above knee length and a rectangular
handbag which can be attached to the coat. With this set, the
contest rules were followed and the designer’s idea was carried
out.
To select the raw material (fabric and lining) and other trims
(threads, zips, etc) was the next step. The decision fell in a
blue jacquard fabric with “light blue reliefs”. Whereas fabrics
used are surplus from previous collections, lining and zips
came as the best option according to sustainability principles
 António Dinis Marques et al. / Procedia CIRP 84 (2019) 1063–1068 1065
Author name / Procedia CIRP 00 (2019) 000–000 3

(see Fig.3). In addition to these materials, it was necessary to

buy woven and nonwoven interlinings to increase the volume
of the fashion product.

Fig. 3. The chosen fabric

The digitization of the sketches was the next step. Technical

Fig. 5. Pattern making.
draws and technical sheets were incorporated in the final
development and contest proposal. These illustrations gave a
After these modifications, an unbleached cotton fabric
general overview of the set, fitting the sewing and colour
having a similar thickness of the final fabric, combined with
contrast, keeping a common visual language (see Fig. 4).
the interlining, was cut. Then the materials were sewn together
to make a “draft” set. With this strategy was possible avoiding
serious mistakes that could compromise the whole project.
Furthermore, it was possible to define the production process
and operations (sewing and pressing mainly) necessary and
also set up the sewing machines and other components
(threads, needles, machine apparatus, etc) to produce the
prototypes without any defaults. Few corrections were done
during this step and the prototypes produced were approved
(see Fig. 6).

Fig. 4. (a) Illustration of the coat and handbag; (b) Illustration of the shorts.

It was possible in this phase to change some details in a few

elements, without modifying the final solution.
Pattern making of the different elements was the next step.
This phase took a long time to be completed due to the intensity
of manual work and the careful set of tasks. While the patterns
are in a working process, the defaults or measurement errors
cannot be detected, appearing only in the final product. Many
times, too late (see Fig. 5). Fig. 6. (a) Prototype of the coat in raw fabric; (b) Prototype of the shorts.
1066 António Dinis Marques et al. / Procedia CIRP 84 (2019) 1063–1068
4 Author name / Procedia CIRP 00 (2019) 000–000

Prototyping was not required to prepare the handbag since according to the sketches joining them as final products. The
the patterns are very linear. seat belt had an important role as a closing element of the coat
The cutting plan in paper was a preliminary step before the and to hold the handbag in the final prototype. During the
final cutting of the fabric. To be more accurate with part’s manual coat production, several ironing operations were
dimensions, the designers did some shots with a digital camera carried out to prevent the shrinkage of some parts that could
saving some fabric wastes. This strategy allowed sufficient change the final aesthetic and compromise the contest
savings to develop extra tags to complete the set. These three performance.
tags (bigger than common fashion labels) had the designers Get Away prototype applies for TAP contest as a classic
signature manually embroidered. item (a coat) with an irreverent and modern twist, using the
After finishing the patterns, with all the adjustments and upcycling concept to escape the fast and vicious fashion cycle
corrections, the designers cut the contest blue fabric to obtain (see Fig. 9).
the outer part of the coat, the shorts, and the handbag. After,
they cut all the other parts (lining and interlining). Finally, they
assembled the interlining with the blue fabric (see Fig. 7).

Fig. 9. (a) Get Away Suit; (b) Closed seat belt; (c) Lining detail; (d)
Handbag; (e) Shorts detail.

Fig. 7. (a) Cut of the lining; (b) Cut of the main fabric and padding. The “hand” embroidered in the prototype´s handbag signs
the needed perennial pull of the fashion’s victim to the new real
The assembling operations of the different pieces were world, more conscious and active to the environmental impact
combined with the fusing operation and the overlock of the of their attitudes. Other details, mainly manual embroidery as
edges. This operations allowed a better linkage between all the is the “net”, signs the individual imprisoned. The seat belt has
materials. Some handcraft embroidery was applied as design two meanings: can be a safety object to car drivers and aircraft
details and prepared with embroidery guides (see Fig. 8). passengers, but can be also the opening of the prototype as well
as the individual fashion consumer to the external world. The
unusual position of this closing option means the difficulties
found to emancipate themselves. This closing position (zip)
allows the usage of the handbag with or without the coat.

2.2. Project Outcomes

The enormous media exposure of the Upcycling Project by

TAP contest started with the public session in Modtissimo fair.
This fair is an exhibition of fabrics and accessories, Portuguese
garment makers, textiles for tomorrow and Portuguese
tanneries. The previous edition (September 2018) had around 6
thousand visitors during two days in Alfândega building in
Porto (see Fig. 10).
Fig. 8. Embroidery guides.

The sewing operations were defined in the technical sheet

and carefully followed during these tasks. To avoid sewing
mistakes and corrections is a quality required to achieve an
excellent fashion product.
Besides the contest blue fabric, the assembling operations
took the other elements (metallic seat belt, zips, tags, etc)
 António Dinis Marques et al. / Procedia CIRP 84 (2019) 1063–1068 1067
Author name / Procedia CIRP 00 (2019) 000–000 5

Fig. 10. Contest presentation in Modtissimo, Porto.

This public presentation of all the designers to jury and

visitors of their prototypes was recorded and launch in all the
platforms from Feira Modtissimo. Upcycling Project by TAP
had its own page inside the Feira Modtissimo site. Furthermore, Fig. 11. Articles and online videos about the contest.
the Portuguese aircraft company TAP had an article on the
contest in UP Magazine distributed in all TAP flights around 3. Conclusions
the world.
Other outcomes in social media and television (RTP1) were The fashion design process is based in creativity and
very important to show the importance of this issue in the future designer’s mental freedom, from conceptual development till
megatrends to fashion industry. Daily news in the RTP on garment sewing. An approach with guidelines and previous
Sunday showed the results of the contest and RPTNotícias conditions linked with upcycling and sustainability was a
presented also some interviews with the three winners. challenge to the designers. To use old fabrics from the aircraft
Newspapers (Jornal T and PortugalTêxtil) and online social seats and metallic seat belts changed the design process to
media highlighted this partnership and cooperation between an prepare the final prototype. These textile wastes become raw
air company and a textile fair. material in this contest, allowing the development of
It is very important to show these cases to a big audience conceptual fashion products. To solve this “dilemma” of
and fashion consumers (see Fig. 11) in the media and transforming wastes in fashion products with a high value
mainstream players. In academic conferences, it is quite added, the creative design processes are critical. Young
common to discuss topics such as the upcycling and circular designers need to be aware of the circular economy in fashion
economy in fashion industry, but the audience is mainly industry and upcycling is one way to close the loop and reduce
researchers and experts. As stated by Ragossnig and the environmental impact of the fashion industry. Other options
Schneider, the circular economy package clearly puts an are possible and desirable, addressing new strategies and
emphasis on closing the loop on the material side, including approaches to all the T&C stakeholders and academic
wastes from different sources [10]. And next generations of communities. This approach can be disseminate to other
fashion consumers, millennials and Z, are searching for “wastes” producers in different industries or activities.
“meaning”, authenticity and conscience in their preferred When companies and organizations from different fields
fashion brands [11,12]. “Green” is the colour of next and businesses decide to join resources, ideas and goodwill, to
generations and the textile and clothing companies are stimulate the creativity of young professionals, the results can
preparing the new collections with organic or recycled be fantastic, as they were in this contest.
materials as an important option. An increasing option, indeed,
as it was showed in the last Modtissimo, February 2019.
Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the Project

UID/CTM/00264/2019 of 2C2T – Centro de Ciência e
Tecnologia Têxtil, funded by National Founds through
FCT/MCTES.
1068 António Dinis Marques et al. / Procedia CIRP 84 (2019) 1063–1068
6 Author name / Procedia CIRP 00 (2019) 000–000

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Webpages (Portuguese media):

https://www.portugaltextil.com/modtissimo-prepara-crescimento/
https://jornal-t.pt/noticia/upcycling-a-tap-tambem-fanez-moda-circular/
https://jornal-t.pt/noticia/tatiana-ribeiro-e-a-vencedora-do-concurso-
upcycling-by-tap/
https://pt.fashionnetwork.com/news/Sustentabilidade-em-destaque-no-
proximo-Modtissimo,1016601.html
https://jornal-t.pt/noticia/tap-e-modtissimo-desafiam-jovens-criadores/