Ashley Raynor, design process

Ashley Raynor’s collection was heavily inspired by the pollution and contributing factors towards global warming and the decline of animal and plant life as a direct result of polluting factors. She combines the use of zero-waste pattern cutting, organic fabrics, eco print and dying methods, recycling packaging, recycling fabrics and ancient printing techniques to create an assortment of garments to be worn by the first colony on Mars.

During the process of combining sustainable processes with the oversized Autumn/Winter nature of the outerwear. Ashley tried and tested ways to grow plantlife as surface decoration for the coats. One of the biggest reasons we are not yet ready to colonise on Mars is due to the failure of all biosphere tests. In all tests, we fail to produce enough oxygen to support the human and animal life within the colony. Having our own plant and oxygen source within the uniforms that they wear may be a way to combat this issue.

The collection has a unified theme, yet each piece comes with different recombination of unconventional pattern cutting and finishing. Ashley's design incorporates all printing by hand and her signature octopus print was created using an ancient form of Japanese printing called ‘Gyotaku’.