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Eco-conscious embroidery: Custom creations revive old clothes and keep wardrobe overload at bay

Noted: Von Haden loved drawing as a child and often focused on fashion illustrations. She knew when she arrived for college at UW-Madison she wanted to focus on fashion. After a semester in New York City at the Fashion Institute of Technology, Von Haden returned to Madison for her senior year in 2017. During that year she taught herself embroidery, intending to include it in her clothing collection for her senior project. “Then I abandoned the clothes and focused just on the embroidery,” Von Haden says. “I became aware of the waste and unsustainability in fast fashion and I realized I didn’t want to be part of the never-ending cycle of new clothes.”