‘From Farms to Fast Fashion’: UGA Special Collections exhibit traces history of the clothing industry | Arts & Culture

From a 1960s stockings advertisement to a 1970s floral paper dress, viewers can catch a glimpse into fashion trends across decades at The University of Georgia Special Collections Library exhibit, “From Farms to Fast Fashion: Unravelling the Need for Sustainable Style.”

Curated by Sara Idacavage, fashion historian and sustainable fashion educator, the exhibit focuses on the rise of fast fashion from historical, economic and sustainable viewpoints.

Idacavage began curating this exhibit in 2023 as a graduate student in the UGA College of Family and Consumer Sciences. After collaborating with the Special Collections Library on an exhibit in 2022 and finding inspiration from Idacavage’s courses in fashion history and sustainability, Jan Levinson Hebbard, the Special Collections exhibition coordinator, asked if she would be interested in curating an exhibit of her own. Idacavage took her up on the offer.

“All of this information has just kind of been floating around in my head, and I wanted to share it with the greater public,” Idacavage said.

On display at the exhibit are items hand-picked by Idacavage to give viewers a glimpse into how fast fashion has developed over the years, from Sears catalogs and Singer sewing machines to piles of textile waste. While developing the exhibit, Idacavage drew from research she conducted for her doctoral dissertation focused on consumer behavior.

“What Sara’s exhibit is teaching us is that really, as soon as the industrial revolution happened, we see this change in consumer behaviors and the way that clothing is made and sold,” Hebbard said.

The exhibit takes viewers into the past, showing the original methods of making clothing: looms, spinning frames and mending kits can all be studied from behind glass planes. A dress made out of a flour bag is paired with information and photos from over 200 years ago, when cotton dictated the economy in Georgia and trickled down to fashion.

Items like the flour bag dress and numerous sewing patterns tell a story of the “make do and mend” generation surviving the Great Depression. With these artifacts on display, viewers can learn exactly how consumers have moved away from this fashion mentality.

“I knew that there was a lot of power in teaching people about this through the use of historical objects, because they’re very evocative,” Idacavage said. “One particular object can tell 10 different stories about all of these different histories and how they connect.”

As overconsumption ramps up in America, current artifacts of Shein bags and synthetic fabrics tell a different story than the one of the 19th century.

“From Farms to Fast Fashion” highlights how 11.3 million pounds of textile waste end up in landfills each year, posing to viewers the question of how to push against this statistic moving forward.

Hebbard prompts students to turn towards organizations such as UGA Fair Fashion and Swap Shop to source clothes second-hand instead of buying new.

“It’s a radical act to push against the constant urge to buy that’s being fed to us through social media or advertisements,” Idacavage said.

Idacavage said that by pushing against the constant urge to buy, consumers can combat the growing pile of textile waste collecting in landfills each year. According to Idacavage, the exhibit allows viewers to step into the past of clothing and decide if they would like to adopt these sustainable, old-fashioned practices moving forward.

“I’m hoping this will encourage people to sort of challenge their perceptions of what sustainable fashion is,” Idacavage said. “And to also see that all of us, every human being who wears clothes, is somehow connected to these larger systems in both positive and negative ways.”

The exhibit “From Farms to Fast Fashion” is set to run for display until December, and those interested in learning more can visit the Special Collections Library website.