Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Date of Degree
6-2025
Document Type
Master's Capstone Project
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Program
Liberal Studies
Advisor
Eugenia Paulicelli
Subject Categories
Fashion Design | Fiber, Textile, and Weaving Arts
Keywords
Fashion Theory, Upcycling, Applied Ethics, Interdisciplinary Studies, Montage, Art
Abstract
I conducted an experiment during which I learned to sew, created a clothing collection, and wore nothing but my collection for a month. Additionally, I documented my collection and the process in a fashion film. The goal of my experiment was to investigate fashion ethics. To gain a greater understanding of the underlying theories that fashion materializes and to grasp their ethical implications better, I studied the texts of fashion theorists such as Marx, Barthes, Derrida, Deleuze and Guattari, Butler, Benjamin, and Merleau-Ponty throughout my experiment. Therefore, I gained insight into many aspects of fashion ethics, from the beginning stages of production to the experience of wearing ethically designed garments, to creating a fashion film. My project emphasizes the intersection of their theories on the fashioned body. Through my experiment, I discovered numerous benefits of practicing ethical fashion, and I documented my firsthand experience of these benefits. This experiment demonstrates clothing’s profound potential to impact an individual and has many implications for how ethical fashion choices could affect broader society.
Recommended Citation
Porterfield, Sarah G., "Hope by a Thousand Cuts: Fashion Ethics from Cutting Fabric to Cutting a Fashion Film" (2025). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/6287
Capstone Capsule Collection - Film
