I recently spent the evening learning more about slow fashion and conscious living at Garmentory's "A Conscious Conversation." Garmentory is a store carrying indie, or smaller, up-and-coming boutiques and designers (like Agnes Baddoo, Block Shop Textiles, Sophie Monet, etc.), so it felt fitting that Garmentory's founder, Adele Tetangco, would create a space to talk about the exciting new ways many emerging designers are looking at fashion today. That new "way," is, well, slower. You may have heard the term "slow fashion," which is an increasingly growing movement:
"Slow fashion is an awareness and approach to fashion, which considers the processes and resources required to make clothing, particularly focusing on sustainability. It involves buying better-quality garments that will last for longer and values fair treatment of people, animals andthe planet."- Madeleine Hill, of Good on You.
The primary conversation of the evening revolved around the responsibility brands, and customers have to make more conscious choices. Buying slower and buying smarter, in a few, small ways, looks like this:
- buying products we truly love and will use many times
- buying products of quality=longer life (therefore reducing the amount of clothing/waste we buy and produce, as well as saving money)
- buying upcycled products or used/thrifted/vintage
- when we do shop from stores, buying from brands that are making sincere efforts to have a lighter footprint on the planet.
I write "sincere" in the last line because what I additionally learned this night was specifically eye-opening: that not all brands are serious, and that many "sustainable" labels exist for marketing purposes. It is our responsibility to dig deeper, question where our clothes come from, how they were made, and what impact supporting said company will have on the workers making the products, our wallets, lives, and the planet as a whole.If all of this seems confusing or overwhelming, the big takeaway was to just, be conscious. Be curious and conscious of the good and bad that the fashion industry has to offer, and let that knowledge and awareness lead you to make smarter choices.
Thank you, Adele and Jameela for having me!
Scroll Down for Outfit Details
Outfit Details
Jumpsuit: Barrie Knitwear
Chain Necklace: Loren Stewart
Box Purse: Vintage
Heels: Vintage
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