MATTHEW NEEDHAM

UK

How do you relate to sustainability? Matthew Needham: “For me sustainability is a way of working, a process, an extension of the storytelling through my work. I mix materials found on the street, literally trash, with deadstock luxury fabrics. The idea is to create materialistic value out of these objects through creativity. I just go beyond being environmentally friendly.” What made you choose

rubbish as your main material? “While working in Paris as an intern at two luxury houses, I saw the amount of waste that was being generated. The thoughtlessness of the waste production and the incineration of the materials were just crazy. Seeing that with my own eyes was the catalyst that made me want to do my graduate collection.” What’s the idea behind this collection? “It was called ‘Man and His Man-Made Future’ and was based on the idea of man’s curation of the world around himself to benefit the human race and domestication.” How do you combine the fashion world with your anthropological interests? “My work is about the discussion and the meaning of something that exists. Clothes are the medium with which I can talk about what I believe in – my interest in activism, social issues and the big problems with the environment.” Is it a

challenge to live by your ideals? “Definitely. I feel like I’m the trash man of fashion, the garbage guy running underneath everybody, finding all the crap and making shiny dresses out of it.” • P.R.

@mpfneedham