Fashion from the Landscape

Hysterical Fashion - Created from Nature, Inspired by History. An exciting new project! Come along, design and make constumes inspired by your own perceptions of History. From August 26th to August 31st 2008

Fashion-from-the-Landscape has grown out of two former European Union funded projects delivered by Grampus; the 'Culture 2000' supported 'Costumes and Masks Stimulating Innovative Art & Design' (2000) and 'the 'EU Youth' supported 'Fashion-in-the-Forest' (2005). Young Cumbrians were involved in the planning, delivery and dissemination of both projects. The project uses fashion and art as a means of involving young people in exciting outdoor activity in the catchment of Bassenthwaite Lake. They will sustainably gather local materials, learn about 'Local Agenda 21' and the principles of 'localness' and reduced environmental impact. Whilst learning these lessons, which are critical to the healthy future of the lake, the young people will design and show fashion, thereby adding their own element to the cultural identity and landscape of the catchment. There will be three interactive events (from a shortlist of 4 per year), each year for three years and these will be seasonal, spring, summer, autumn and winter. They will rotate between different elements of the landscape of the catchment and be centred at venues across the whole catchment. The venues and landscape themes have arisen through the project development and will consist of 9 from these 12 ……

Spring 2007 - Fashion-by-the-Lake, Armathwaite.
Summer 2007 - Fashion-on-the-Fells, Thirlmere and Helvellyn. (Click for image gallery)
Autumn 2007 - Stone Fashion - Honnister Slate Mine.
Winter 2007 - Frozen Fashion - Derwentwater - Theatre by the Lake.
Spring 2008 - Cultural Costumes, Contemporary Clothes - Blencathra.
Summer 2008 - Working with Wool (to coincide with 'Woolfest' - Cockermouth).
Autumn 2008 - Folklore and Fashion - 'on the edge of the forest' - Dodd Wood.
Winter 2008 - Colours from Nature - heather, bracken & bilberry, Portinscale.
Spring 2009 - Fashion-by-the-Lake - Mirehouse.
Summer 2009 - A celebration of three years of Fashion-from-the-Landscape, Keswick (to coincide with Keswick show in August).
Autumn 2009 - Fashion-on-the-Farm, Fornside, St. John's-in-the-Vale.
Winter 2009 - Fashion-in-the-Forest, Whinlatter.

Each interactive event has common elements…

- For one of the three annual events, young people from at least 3 other European countries are involved as a minimum - this brings new ideas and skills and releases European Union funding from 'Leonardo da Vinci', 'Youth' and 'Culture 2000'. The average number of young people at the one main international event is 40 and the duration is 7 to 14 days (participants live, work & create together). The other events will involve overseas visitors at times but will involve young Cumbrians in the main. Fashion-by-the-Lake at Armathwaite in Spring 2007, involves German, Polish, Slovakian and Slovenian young people, as well as locals.

- Each event involves the young people in sustainably gathering material and designing and producing clothes, jewellery and accessories, a fashion show and some other cultural elements including music, dance and storytelling.

- Each event has training offered to the young people by local craftworkers and artisans. This training may be recognised, certificated and validated by a number of mechanisms, including the 'John Muir Award', Duke of Edinburgh Award and LANTRA (land-based industry training).

- Each event has a cultural and social programme that further explores the issues of the catchment, both cultural, social (community) and environmental.

- Each event will feature a main performance to the visiting public with invited guests and each event will showcase local materials and products.

- A selection of the product of each event is gathered in an archive and exhibited and re-used for display, teaching and promotion of local products, as well as giving the local sustainability message. The archive is held at a number of village halls and local schools.

- The project will offer out of school and family learning opportunities through Cumbria County Council.

In the Summer of 2005 Grampus led the original 'Fashion-in-the-Forest' in Cumbria with almost 60 young people taking part.

Grampus Heritage and Training Ltd, Ashgill, Threapland, Wigton, Cumbria, CA7 2EL, United Kingdom Telephone: +44 (0) 16973 21516 Fax: +44 (0) 16973 23040 E.Mail: enquiries@grampusheritage.co.uk