Danielle Elsener

About

“Danielle Elsener has developed a complete zero-waste design system to solve industry problems through communication, sharing, and play.“

Throughout her time at RCA Elsener has been awarded numerous scholarships and awards, including the Kaihara denim sponsorship and iDesign grant for her work around Covid-19 PPE designs. She is currently a semi-finalist for the Mayors Entrepeneurial Competition for A020 - A Zero Waste Design System. She has been featured across multiple media platforms including Dezeen, One Granary, Disegno, and Digital Journal. Her work has been displayed in exhibitions at Nike WHQ, Microsoft Cambridge, Avantex Paris, and RCA WIP. 

Before attending RCA Elsener spent three years on the Nike Design team developing apparel for the launch of the NBA program. She also developed Zero Waste Design strategies for the company and founded the Sustainabile Design Cohort. Elsener has also worked as an ambassador for Savannah College of Art and Design, where she served as a mentor for the 2020 SCAD Pro summit. In association with this ambassadorship she also developed a Zero Waste collection in Lacoste, FR based around foraging local materials.

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Degree Details

Statement

Elsener has dedicated her life's work to proving zero-waste as a valid and robust design model. For over a decade, she has learned from industry, educational institutions, and self-run initiatives to understand how best to do this. What began as a love for puzzle solving through zero-waste pattern-making, became a way to fix the fashion industry’s biggest problem.

CIRCLING THE SQUARE

ELSENER_01
ELSENER_01 — THE UNLOCK. THE ZERO WASTE PATTERN MASTER. CONDENSING ALL OF THE INFORMATION NEEDED TO CREATE INTO ONE SUCCINCT TOOL.
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ELSENER_02 — THE INFLUENCE OF ZERO WASTE THROUGH THE REACHES OF DESIGN, EDUCATION, AND PRODUCTION.
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ELSENER_03 — THE CONDENSED PATH OF THE ZERO WASTE DESIGN TOOL. PATTERNS TURN INTO TOOLS THAT TURN FABRIC INTO ZERO WASTE GARMENTS.
ELSENER_04
ELSENER_04 — "PORTRAIT SERIES" BY OLIVER TRUELOVE & JOE RICHARDS FEATURING A SECTION OF THE OPEN SOURCE ZERO WASTE SCRUB SET. THIS PATTERN WAS DEVELOPED IN RESPONSE TO THE IMMEDIATE NEED FOR PPE IN LIGHT OF THE COVID PANDEMIC. IT WAS CREATED TO BE A COMPLETELY FREE RESOURCE - TO BE DOWNLOADED, USED, SHARED, MODIFIED, AND PUT BACK TOGETHER AGAIN.

Launch Project
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ELSENER_05 — ZERO WASTE SCRUB SETS CREATED FOR A NAVY MEDICAL UNIT PHOTOGRAPHY BY SAMMY SELIN MODELED BY MAREK ORZELSKI & LAURA DUDEK

Launch Project
ELSENER_06
ELSENER_06 — A BEHIND THE SCENES LOOK AT THE BREAK DOWN OF PATTERNS AND GRAPHICS INTEGRATED INTO ZERO WASTE DESIGNS.LOCALIZED PRODUCTION OF ZERO WASTE GARMENTS. THIS PROJECT WAS CREATED AS A TESTING GROUND FOR BOTH LOCALIZED MANUFACTURE AND CHANGING RETAIL MODELS. CREATED DURING THE LOCKDOWN, THESE SHIRTS WERE DEVELOPED WITHIN A 3KM RADIUS OF MY FLAT IN EAST LONDON. USING A PRE-ORDER MODEL, CONSUMERS COULD CHOOSE TO PURCHASE THE FULL SHIRT OR ANY PIECES OF THE PROCESS THAT THEY WANTED. LOCAL PARTICIPANTS: DALSTON MILLS PAPER HAUS SCREEN PRINTERS LONDON TRIMMINGS DUPLIKAT PRESS RISOGRAPH PRINTERS RAEBURN LAB PHOTOGRAPHY BY SAMMY SELIN MODELED BY MAREK ORZELSKI & LAURA DUDEK https://decodecodecode.com/PRE-ORDER
ELSENER_07
ELSENER_07 — LOCALIZED PRODUCTION OF ZERO WASTE GARMENTS. THIS PROJECT WAS CREATED AS A TESTING GROUND FOR BOTH LOCALIZED MANUFACTURE AND CHANGING RETAIL MODELS. CREATED DURING THE LOCKDOWN, THESE SHIRTS WERE DEVELOPED WITHIN A 3KM RADIUS OF MY FLAT IN EAST LONDON. USING A PRE-ORDER MODEL, CONSUMERS COULD CHOOSE TO PURCHASE THE FULL SHIRT OR ANY PIECES OF THE PROCESS THAT THEY WANTED. LOCAL PARTICIPANTS: DALSTON MILLS PAPER HAUS SCREEN PRINTERS LONDON TRIMMINGS DUPLIKAT PRESS RISOGRAPH PRINTERS RAEBURN LAB PHOTOGRAPHY BY SAMMY SELIN MODELED BY MAREK ORZELSKI & LAURA DUDEK

Launch Project
ELSENER_08
ELSENER_08 — ZERO WASTE PATTERN DETAILS HIGHLIGHTED IN KAIHARA DENIM PHOTOGRAPHY BY SAMMY SELIN MODELED BY MAREK ORZELSKI
ELSENER_ABOUT_A020 — AN OVERVIEW OF A020 - A ZERO WASTE DESIGN SYSTEM CREATED BY DANIELLE ELSENER

This collection revolves around the notion of “Circling the Square,” to solve the impossible problem of sustainability within the fashion industry. It focuses on using a bold graphic language, color theory, and pattern cutting manipulation to tell the story of its Zero Waste Design. The pieces are classic menswear staples with a twist that highlight the minimal yet beautiful differences that Zero-Waste pattern cutting creates.
Provided with a set of instructions, the user is led to understand the theory behind Zero-Waste Design, and either recreate a garment or create something completely new.
The sharing of information and techniques is so important to the further development of sustainability within the fashion industry: my function as a designer in today's world is to empower and educate. To create new avenues of thought that span disciplines, cultures, and traditions. To forge new opportunities that foster interaction and dialogue. Though my methodology might exist in the world of fashion, its core extends so much further. Questioning the reality of something. Looking for patterns in everything around you. Dissecting the parts that create the whole. Solving problems and offering real time solutions.

Medium: DENIM, COTTON

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