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Name
Lea Helene Adelsten Olsen
Education degree
Master
Subject area
Design
Year
2017

During my graduation project I have studied how to develop a collection of exclusive leather bags focusing on sustainability.

The production of conventional leather accessories is associated with a huge waste - often 40-50% of the skin is discarded, either due to faults and unevenness in the surface or due to clipping between the individual pattern parts.

My goal has been to minimize the waste of leather considerably, without compromising on quality and aesthetics.

 

The project has been sponsored by ECCO Accessories and KVADRAT

 

 

Bag 01 // Cross body bag

In order to minimize the waste of materials in my collection, I have chosen to include the concept of "Zero Waste Pattern Cutting".


The purpose of the Zero Waste method is to reduce the amount of clipping between pattern parts when designing a piece of clothes or accessories.

 

The focus is on using materials optimally, where the individual pattern parts can be placed close to each other so that all the material is being used.

all bag silhouettes consist of geometric pattern parts that can be placed like a jigsaw puzzle to avoid waste of materials
1/5
bag 01: cross body
bag 02: tote
bag 03: wallet
bag 04: shopper
bag 05: clutch

To create a both complex and minimalist expression in my collection, I have worked with various material compositions and prints that adorn parts of the bags.
The development of prints has been a study of the contrast between the analogue and the digital world.

Moodboard: The print design process is inspired by a digital aesthetic - moodboard is made of own illustrations and experiments
Sketchbook//pattern development: I have designed 2 different prints for the bags. This book contains my pattern process.
Testing: During the printing process I have tested different analog techniques including foil, pigments and flock on leather.

Geometric pattern part overview:

Pattern part puzzles: the zero waste method eliminate waste clipping between the individual pattern parts

During the production of my collection, I was invited to ECCO's headquarters in Bredebro, where I received great help in the development of my final prototypes.

The stitching workshop at ECCO's headquaters in Bredebro
The talented Ella Madsen is working on the clutch

Minimizing waste:

Small accessories and hangtags: all made from waste material from the production of the bags.
All waste material has been collected in order to make small accessories for the collection

A very special thanks to my sponsors, ECCO Accessories & KVADRAT, who helped me make this project a reality

 

 

The Royal Danish Academy supports the Sustainable Development Goals
Since 2017 the Royal Danish Academy has worked with the Sustainable Development Goals. This is reflected in our research, our teaching and in our students’ projects. This project relates to the following UN goal(-s):
Responsible consumption and production (12)