Make/Use
Make/Use began with a simple but radical proposition: what if a garment could be designed so that nothing was wasted, and the person wearing it could continue to shape and modify it over time? The result was an open-source system for making user-modifiable, zero-waste garments — combining digitally printed patterns with instructions directly applied to the cloth, so that the fabric itself becomes the guide for construction and adaptation.
Developed at Massey University and exhibited at Objectspace Gallery, Auckland in 2015, Make/Use brought together zero-waste pattern cutting, digital textile printing, and participatory design into a coherent and accessible practice. The project was acquired for the permanent collection of Te Papa Tongarewa, the Museum of New Zealand, in 2016, and has since been exhibited internationally and widely adopted in design education.
Make/Use marked a shift from zero waste as a technical constraint to a design philosophy that extends beyond the cutting table into how garments are used, modified, and kept.
New Zealand Best Design Award. Permanent collection: Te Papa Tongarewa. Exhibited internationally. With Jen Archer-Martin, Jo Bailey, Greta Menzies, Karl Kane, Jason O'Hara, Bonnie Beatie, and Emma Fox.
Zero Waste
Make/Use T-shirt and Trouser. Open source, user modifiable, zero waste garments and system.
Make/Use wrap dress. Open source, user modifiable, zero waste garments and system.
Make/Use coat and skirt. Open source, user modifiable, zero waste garments and system.
Make/Use felted seam coat and skirt. Open source, user modifiable, zero waste garments and system.
Make/Use paper models.
Make/Use is an open source, user modifiable, zero waste template and grid system that makes learning, designing and making zero waste garments easy for anyone.
Make/Use is an open source, user modifiable, zero waste template and grid system that makes learning, designing and making zero waste garments easy for anyone.
Make/Use exhibition at ObjectSpace in Auckland, New Zealand. The space was half gallery, half open studio and lab
Make/Use exhibition at ObjectSpace in Auckland, New Zealand. The space was half gallery, half open studio and lab
Make/Use exhibition at ObjectSpace in Auckland, New Zealand. The space was half gallery, half open studio and lab
Make/Use exhibition at ObjectSpace in Auckland, New Zealand. The space was half gallery, half open studio and lab
McQuillan, H., Archer-Martin, J. G., Menzies, J. Bailey, K. Kane, & E. Fox Derwin. (2018). Make/Use: a system for open source, user-modifiable, zero waste fashion practice.