Columbia’s focus on sustainability has increased in recent years with the hosting of the annual GreenTown Conference and efforts to raise awareness of the college’s recycling program. But now, with a new exhibit on display at the A+D Gallery, 619 S. Wabash Ave. Building, Columbia students are exploring the idea of reusing materials to create art.

The “Zero Waste: Fashion Re-Patterned” gallery, on display until April 16, works to redeem fashion’s reputation for wastefulness by using reused and recycled textiles.   Artists have crafted different designs to show what can become of materials that have been cast aside.

“The idea for ‘Zero Waste’ came about from this desire to talk about fashion and sustainable design processes,” said Arti Sandhu, curator and assistant professor in the Fashion Studies Department. “[A goal] is for people to realize the value of design and what design can bring to a product opposed to only thinking about value—knowing more about what they’re wearing and consuming, opposed to thinking, ‘How cheap is it?’”

Sandhu said she believes sustainable fashion’s objective is to combine responsibility with artistic expression but maintain a focus on design’s importance.

“Sustainable fashion is long-term and has longevity but is still appealing and has all the aesthetic goodness that clothing needs to have,” Sandhu said. “It’s also a cultural thing where we may value design and quality [more than] cost and quantity.”

Another of Sandhu’s goals is to give people optimism about the idea of designing and creating garments that can have more than a visual benefit.

“The long-term goals are to instill a sense of hope that it is possible to have beautifully designed garments and have fashion that can also be good for you or can be more than just a one-off trend,” Sandhu said.

Artists from as far away as New Zealand and as close as The Art Institute of Chicago have their work on display. Maison Martin Margiela, Belgian fashion designer, crafted a blouson made entirely of winter gloves.

Derick Melander, a New York-based artist, submitted a piece, titled “Compression.” It is an 8-foot-tall, 800-pound stack of folded clothing. The college took extra precautions for the piece.

Before opening, extra support beams were installed in the building’s basement to ensure that the floor would not collapse. Melander installed a support system at the base of “Compression” before it was displayed, so the beams were solely a precaution, according to Sandhu.

“Compression” features a color pattern that shifts from dark at the bottom to light at the top. The change represents people’s misconceptions of identity, Melander said.

The college’s devotion to the exhibit and its commitment to the artists was impressive, he said.

“They went through so many hurdles to make this happen,” Melander said. “It’s impressive for an institution to go through that trouble. [Sandhu] is really involved and really sensitive to everyone’s needs and making sure everyone’s work is represented well.”

Though Melander’s “Compression” was created for “Zero Waste” exclusively, about half of the pieces were already part of the artists’ catalogues.

“Zero Waste” is much different than a typical fashion gallery that displays different garments with no greater theme, Sandhu said.

“Fashion can be serious yet beautiful,” she said. “I really wanted it to be an exhibition than has more than just a bunch of dresses. It has to be more than that to be a valid exhibition.”

Jay Wolke, chair of the Art and Design Department, admires the vision of “Zero Waste” and the ideas it communicates.

Columbia’s focus on sustainability has increased in recent years with the hosting of the annual GreenTown Conference and efforts to raise awareness of the college’s recycling program. But now, with a new exhibit on display at the A+D Gallery, 619 S. Wabash Ave. Building, Columbia students are exploring the idea of reusing materials cto create art. The “Zero Waste: Fashion Re-Patterned” gallery, on display until April 16, works to redeem fashion’s reputation for wastefulness by using reused and recycled textiles.

Artists have crafted different designs to show what can become of materials that have been cast aside.“The idea for ‘Zero Waste’ came about from this desire to talk about fashion and sustainable design processes,” said Arti Sandhu, curator and assistant professor in the Fashion Studies Department. “[A goal] is for people to realize the value of design and what design can bring to a product opposed to only thinking about value—knowing more about what they’re wearing and consuming, opposed to thinking, ‘How cheap is it?’”

Sandhu said she believes sustainable fashion’s objective is to combine responsibility with artistic expression but maintain a focus on design’s importance.“Sustainable fashion is long-term and has longevity but is still appealing and has all the aesthetic goodness that clothing needs to have,” Sandhu said. “It’s also a cultural thing where we may value design and quality [more than] cost and quantity.” Another of Sandhu’s goals is to give people optimism about the idea of designing and creating garments that can have more than a visual benefit.“The long-term goals are to instill a sense of hope that it is possible to have beautifully designed garments and have fashion that can also be good for you or can be more than just a one-off trend,” Sandhu said.Artists from as far away as New Zealand and as close as The Art Institute of Chicago have their work on display.

Maison Martin Margiela, Belgian fashion designer, crafted a blouson made entirely of winter gloves.Derick Melander, a New York-based artist, submitted a piece, titled “Compression.” It is an 8-foot-tall, 800-pound stack of folded clothing. The college took extra precautions for the piece. Before opening, extra support beams were installed in the building’s basement to ensure that the floor would not collapse. Melander installed a support system at the base of “Compression” before it was displayed, so the beams were solely a precaution, according to Sandhu.

“Compression” features a color pattern that shifts from dark at the bottom to light at the top. The change represents people’s misconceptions of identity, Melander said.The college’s devotion to the exhibit and its commitment to the artists was impressive, he said.

“They went through so many hurdles to make this happen,” Melander said. “It’s impressive for an institution to go through that trouble. [Sandhu] is really involved and really sensitive to everyone’s needs and making sure everyone’s work is represented well.”Though Melander’s “Compression” was created for “Zero Waste” exclusively, about half of the pieces were already part of the artists’ catalogues.“Zero Waste” is much different than a typical fashion gallery that displays different garments with no greater theme, Sandhu said.

“Fashion can be serious yet beautiful,” she said. “I really wanted it to be an exhibition than has more than just a bunch of dresses. It has to be more than that to be a valid exhibition.”Jay Wolke, chair of the Art and Design Department, admires the vision of “Zero Waste” and the ideas it communicates.

Sandhu said she thinks sustainable fashion’s objective is to combine responsibility with artistic expression and maintain a focus on design’s importance.

“Sustainable fashion has longevity but is still appealing and has all the aesthetic goodness that clothing needs to have,” Sandhu said.

Another goal of Sandhu is to provide people with optimism about the idea of designing and creating garments that can have more than a visual benefit.

“The long-term goals are to instill a sense of hope that it is possible to have beautifully designed garments and have fashion that can also be good for you or can be more than just a one-off trend,” Sandhu said.

Artists from as far away as New Zealand and as close as The Art Institute of Chicago have their work on display.

Maison Martin Margiela, Belgian fashion designer, crafted a blouson made entirely of winter gloves.

Derick Melander, a New York-based artist, submitted a piece, titled “Compression.” It is an 8-foot-tall, 800-pound stack of folded clothing. The college took extra precautions for the piece.

Before opening, extra support beams were installed in the building’s basement to ensure the floor would not collapse.

Melander installed a support system at the base of the piece before it was displayed, so the beams were solely a precaution, according to Sandhu.

“Compression” features a color pattern that shifts from dark at the bottom to light at the top. The change represents people’s misconceptions of identity, Melander said.

The college’s devotion to the exhibit and its commitment to the artists was impressive, he said.

“They went through so many hurdles to make this happen,” Melander said. “It’s impressive for an institution to go through that trouble. [Sandhu] is really involved and making sure everyone’s work is represented well.”

Though Melander’s “Compression” was created for “Zero Waste” exclusively, about half of the pieces were already part of the artists’ catalogues.

“Zero Waste” is much different than a typical fashion gallery that displays different garments with no greater theme, Sandhu said.

“Fashion can be serious yet beautiful,” she said. “I really wanted it to be an exhibition that has more than just a bunch of dresses. It has to be more than that to be a valid exhibition.”

Jay Wolke, chair of the Art and Design Department, admires the vision of “Zero Waste” and the ideas it communicates.

“It’s focused and clear in the message it wants to give combining high efficiency and creativity in the field of fashion.”