What is Flatpack Couture?
Flatpack Couture is one of the four concepts I have created during a ten-month research into a future perspective named The New Standard 2030. In this project I Re-Engineered Fast Fashion by making the consumer part of the making process.
When a consumer buys a Flatpack Couture box, they will receive the garment in pieces including an instruction manual showing how to put it together. Sewing the pieces of your Flatpack Couture together not only builds an emotional bond between the customer and the garment, but also gives you the knowledge of how to repair your garment if it ever breaks or how to alter it to your body.
For those who are not capable of creating the garment themselves, a good alternative is outsourcing it to a local seamstress or tailor to support a local maker.
Concept by Studio Jeffrey Heiligers, Photography by Tim Meijer and animal prints by Neetje
Why I designed Flatpack Couture?
Fast Fashion is heavily polluting our planet. Buying became an addiction due to very low prices in the current market and the non stop seducing promises brands make towards their customers. One of the biggest flaws of the fast fashion market is the industry still blaming the consumer for their buying behaviour. Hiding behind the idea of providing what the customer wants gives the industry a free pass to not have to participate in drastically changing the current situation. What they neglect to recognise is that they are the ones seducing customers to buy the low quality, non-ethical and polluting garments and accessories they create. Next to all of this they have started greenwashing their brands with so called ‘sustainable’ collections which also adds to the problem. Being ‘sustainable’, but still mass producing is very contradictory. It’s a new way to seduce customers in making them feel good about a purchase, that isn’t actually any better than the other purchases they make. Things don’t add up here and it’s getting to a point were it gets frustrating to always put the blame on the consumer. You are the one producing and creating and it is time to take responsibility!
The fast fashion industry is also lacking in providing transparent information about how, where and by whom their products are produced. If we (consumers) don’t know what materials are used, where these materials come from and who made this item, it almost becomes impossible to buy products that are a 100% fair and sustainable. Change works both ways and starts with providing honest information around your products, so a customer can make an informed decision based around these facts.
How Flatpack Couture works?
Flatpack Couture provides you with all the ingredients you need to create your own 100% sustainable and 100% ethical garment (GOTS-certified). The idea to create this concept started when I was making a jacket for myself. Making a garment is hardcore engineering and you only realise this when you take part in the process. It made me realise how we have completely lost any connection to the things we wear and use on a daily basis. I was so proud of myself for creating this jacket, that it created an instant connection making me want to take better care of this item and not wanting to throw it away. So basically… If I involve the consumer in the making process, providing them with the right ingredients, I would overcome two of the biggest issues in the fast fashion industry. A, Not having an emotional connection to the garment and B, throwing it away when it brakes or doesn’t fit anymore.
Another interesting point is that through cutting the fabrication of the garment out of the process, I can provide the customer with higher quality (GOTS-certified) materials for a better price than items of lesser quality are being sold for in the current fast fashion industry. Flatpack Couture is a similar concept (flatpack furniture) to what Ikea already has used for decades and is proven to work. Offer higher quality, for lower prices by outsourcing the assembly of the product to the customer.
Involving the consumer in a 100% transparent making process is one way to move forward to a more sustainable future.
Follow Flatpack Couture on social media at https://www.instagram.com/flatpackcouture/ and soon find out more about an interesting collaboration that is coming up.
