Setting the scene for slow fashion: Digital explorations of New York's fibrescape

Abstract

Abstract Farmers with sheep, alpacas and goats provide opportunities for local slow fashion. This is a practice-based case study that developed after discovering primary issues experienced by New York fibre farmers such as low profits and difficulty reaching a market. Beyond products available, farmers highlighted the educational value of their farms, animals and fibres, which are intangible aspects of slow fashion. The aim of this research is to increase the visibility of New York farms, natural fibres and opportunities for slow fashion through digital media short films. This research was guided by Actor Network Theory and the cartography of controversies method during broader slow fashion research in 2013 through 2017. The four New York farm-to-fashion films highlight fibre agro-tourism, artisanship, locally produced fashion and sorting raw fibres for scaled production. The process of creating the short films and interacting with farmers made several entities within the local farm-to-fashion network more visible, including limited access to communication technologies in rural areas, water issues, the closure of fibre mills and economic development issues. The 'collective existence' of local farm-to-fashion is complex and includes social, economic, political and environmental elements in addition to previously considered entities such as fibre animals, farmers, infrastructure and tools. The films were presented to several academic, community audiences and are available as open resources.