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Looking into reusing perhaps old foam to make chairs .We as a society are costantly consuming and discarding , could look into this idea of a circular economy where we repurpose things and find new uses for them.

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Using what is around me, excess materials or packaging

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Bethany Williams

‘Transforms waste into covetable gender fluid street wear’
-British vogue

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Use of green, calm natural colours.
Natural forms, grassy like textures. Delicate flowers.

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Our being in nature is so important, it can negatively affect our mental health if we aren’t consistently in nature. Hence I feel I could explore how I could recreate the textures such as grass and leaves in nature with fabrics.

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‘Human touch is as important to humans as it is for nature. There are many health benefits of human touch, not only is it calming and soothing but studies have shown that it can reduce your blood pressure, release the love hormone ‘oxytocin’ and bring down anxiety and stress. Touch is healing and it activates your vagus nerve which controls the heart, lungs and digestive tract, our parasympathetic nervous system’
Quote from thriveglobal.com
Piece by Mel Madgwick, wellbeing therapist and writer

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Next time you're out in the garden, admire the beauty of the flowers, trees and grass, by reaching out and touching it. Human touch is as important to humans as it is for nature. There are many health benefits of human touch, not only is it calming and soothing but studies have shown that it can reduce your blood pressure, release the love hormone 'oxytocin' and bring down anxiety and stress. Touch is healing and it activates your vagus nerve which controls the heart, lungs and digestive tract, our parasympathetic nervous system.

Nature also desires connection to change, grow and get essential nutrients. For example when a sunflower is in its growth stage, during the day it deliberately turns and faces the sun, this is called 'heliotropism' and is the habit of many different plants. When sunflowers stop blooming they generally turn to face east. This changes the cells and genes of the plant, and is sometimes known as phototropism, when a plant responds to light. Connection, also occurs when they grow, gaining nutrients from sunlight, water and minerals from the soil. Plants then provide us with natural medicine and feed birds, insects and animals. When we think about nature, it gives us the feeling that 'we are all connected', and that is because, we ourselves, are nature. Its fascinating to think that plants crave touch just as we do.

There is scientific evidence to suggest that just as we feel when people are touching us, so do plants. They feel sensations with things like, the rain, a caterpillar crawling across them and the wind blowing. People have also reported that plants grow better when hearing music or voices saying positive things to them. They call a plants reaction to touch, thigmonasty and suggest that it is one of a plants natural defences and protect them from harm.

In Australian Indigenous cultures they see themselves as part of nature, they have a deep relationship where there is a special spiritual, physical and social connection. They don't view themselves as seperate from nature, but rather, an essential part of it. An elder, Bob Randall, explains that "When you're alive, you connect to everything else that is alive", and children are taught from a very young age to embrace nature and the land. Its easy to forget that most adults had more time in nature than their children or grandchildren, nature is important for child development and helps them experience fresh air, creativity and discovery. Indigenous cultures have used art in correlation with nature for thousands of years, and it is another way children can get in touch with nature by drawing, painting and using natural items they've picked up from outside.

Studies have shown that when we view nature, even in pictures, our bodies have a positive emotional response. As humans we have an innate desire for connection but our lives can be so busy and hectic, that its easy to forget about nature as a way of reducing stress. This is because we spend much of our lives indoors. Our culture has changed from getting everything it needs in the natural environment, food, water, shelter, nutrients and medicine. To getting our needs met indoors. There are a lot of people out there who leave from home in the morning, to drive in the car and then off to work, maybe a coffee shop for lunch or a meeting and then off to the gym and back home again. When we are not getting time outdoors, we are missing out on a connection that we were essentially born to thrive in.

By taking a break and reconnecting with nature, we are allowing ourselves to ground, find peace, invigorate our senses and gain a clear mind. Like an old oak tree, we learn that we need to plant our feet firmly on the ground, our lives need stability and order for growth but they also need flexibility to be able to relax and accept change.

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Next time you're out in the garden, admire the beauty of the flowers, trees and grass, by reaching out and touching it. Human touch is as important to humans as it is for nature.

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Trouble sleeping? In pain? Why walking barefoot on grass could help

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Grounding, or earthing, is the theory that barefoot contact with the earth can produce changes in a variety of physiological measures, and some science seems to back it up, according to dietitian nutritionist Carrie Dennett.

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Jill's story: Ecominds and Wellbeing Comes Naturally

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"Nurturing something else into life has really helped my wellbeing – gently caring for something helped me learn to care for myself."
Quote from mind.org.uk

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Alexa Chung on Positive Body Image and Diversity | S1, E3 | Future of Fashion | British Vogue

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Importance of age diversity on the catwalk, showing normal everyday people.

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How perception can be changed. Making the fashion industry a better healthier place.

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The importance of physcology in fashion. Addressing body image , representation in models and how that affects the consumer.

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We saluted the ground-breaking label Bodymap in Dazed's December issue and here we take a look at more of their archive imagery that undoubtedly still resonates in fashion today. There's a reason why Bodymap has never dropped off fashion's radar. Renowned for its neverending layers of print and unstructured shapes, the label has always been a reference point in the world of ready-to-wear - even Kylie was all over the brand when she needed bright pieces for a recent tour. Stewart has gone on to design costumes for Britney Spears and Girls Aloud, showing that Bodymap's aesthetic is still very much relevant.

But that's no big surprise. Stevie Stewart and David Holah, the mastermind duo behind Bodymap, may have watched their brainchild fold in the 80s (just eight years after being founded), but the cultural importance of their collections has never been in doubt. London Fashion Week is now known as a hotbed of craetive flare and in-your-face directional design, but it wasn't always that way. Back in the 80s, it was Bodymap's wildly creative designs that really kicked things into motion.

"Barbie Takes A Trip", "Querelle Meets Olive Oil" and "The Cat in the Hat Takes a Rumble with the Techno Fish" were just some of the inspired names of Bodymap's most popular collections, and their catwalk shows had both fashion editors and club kids abuzz.

More performance art than runway, they could always be relied upon to present their collections in an original, outrageous way and the legendary likes of Boy George, dancer Michael Clark and Leigh Bowery all made catwalk appearances.

It was Bodymap's involvement with textile designer Hilde Smith that really helped shape its vision. Hilde's prints were in a league of their own, and she brought textiles into a whole new light.

Bodymap had big plans. Both Stewart and Holah wanted to go global, but the late 80s were a tough time for the British economy, and like so many other independent labels at the time, Bodymap's niche sales weren't enough to keep it solvent. The buzz word for young hipsters, Bodymap was a whirlwind of overemphasised shapelinesss, restructured shape and ground-breaking print, and references to the much-loved fashion house live on.

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We saluted the ground-breaking label Bodymap in Dazed's December issue and here we take a look at more of their archive imagery that undoubtedly still resonates in fashion today. There's a reason why Bodymap has never dropped off fashion's radar.

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Exploration of how we comfort ourselves what things we do consciously and subconsciously to create peace around us.

Fairy lights
Pictures of family and pets
Fluffy blankets, socks, pyjamas
Sunsets
Actively going into nature , or creating it round us via plans or flowers

How can these things translate into a physical textile or visual experience?

Perhaps through sensory rooms , or box or actual clothing?

Wearable wellbeing ?

Makes sounds, comforting interesting textures, calming colours.
Inspired by the peace of clouds . Cloud watching , sunsets , stargazing.

The beautiful things in life the everyday we need to focus on to create a beautiful mind for us to live in.

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How our environment affects us ?
How halls have affected students? Positives and negatives
The student protests in Manchester over boy that killed himself due to social isolation and lack of help from government , uni or the actual halls.
A continuos problem no one is addressing
To highlight and bring to the forefront this importance of mental health on students and everyone.

How my textiles could celebrate , connect and make people feel less alone.

Mental wellbeing at the forefront.

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In Britain we don’t take care of the elderly as much compared to other countries we need to celebrate all walks of life . Also allowing there stories to be told to inspire a new generation of people.I could do this through prints exploring the human form and the elderly showing the beauty in growing old and the importance of not fighting the natural process.

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Following on from installations , looking how interiors and our day to day surroundings affect our mood and could bring joy and light. Also looking into the affects of COVID and therefore our all necessary social isolation and how as we are now spending so much time in our spaces how can we create the space around us to connect us to the outside , nature and positivy.

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Again along with this idea of sensory rooms , creating an amazing space a sort of escapism around us .Could look into these in halls or such for students , ways to help improve mental health and promote joy and wellbeing

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Looking into sensory rooms and how to create these beautiful spaces through textiles to help people with autism or just as a coping mechanism for mental health , this idea of play that we all should get into touch with in order to reconnect with our inner child.

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Looking into how textiles can engage our brain and explore our own imagination .The positive and negatives our environment has on us. I could use inspiration of clouds and such to create this idea of a calm stillness to be found within the noise of the world.

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The Senses: Design Beyond Vision: Active Textile

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How can we create a similar space around us ?

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From national autistic society website.

‘Autistic people may experience sensory differences. If you are autistic, you may be over-sensitive or under-sensitive to specific sights, sounds, smells or textures. This can be a positive thing, but can also cause distress or discomfort’

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The Sensory Room: Helping Students With Autism Focus and Learn

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These images are from body map fashion shows , they display a vast range of ages of models showing diversity.