The terms sustainable and slow fashion are not interchangeable, but they’re often conflated and misunderstood.
Even the fashion industry can get slow fashion wrong.
“At least in the way that fashion likes to think of them.
Courtesy of Rachael Wang
It also belittles the ongoing commitment to sustainability and ethical consumption,” she says, referencing theBritish Voguearticle.
Slow Fashion: Myth or Movement?
Besides, what does sustainability in fashion mean any more, anyway?
Courtesy of Lindsay Jones
SaysRachael Wang, a New York-based stylist and early champion of ethical and sustainable fashion, “Not much!
That’s exactly where slow fashion comes in.
“Sustainability is part of slow fashion,” explains Manley.
“Sustainability focuses primarily on the environmental and human cost of fashion.
Fabrics, production, all of it is done locally with exacting quality control.
The aim is to make a garment designed to last. "
She adds that slow fashion garments are “designed to be deconstructed and repurposed over the years.”
Courtesy of Lindsay Jones
Wang explains slow fashion as a set of processes that’s intentional in its design.
She says conscious stylists “will continue to support them.”
Shifting to a Slow Perspective
Ultimately, slow fashion is about intention, not impulse.
Is this something you’re free to literally see yourself wearing again and again?
How many different ways can you wear it?
Byrdie Tip
Before buying something, Imm has her clients imagine three different ways to wear it.
“Consider how you going to style that in.
Then ask yourself, do you see yourself grabbing for this piece?
Or is it something that’s just going to sit there?”
In this sense, slowing down is an intentional act of mindfulness, applied to your wardrobe.
“It’s all a slow process.”
The artistry is a step, says Jones, that’s “skipped in fast fashion.”
“I don’t want to discredit the factory workers and the sewers,” says Jones.
“Their work is very laborious and takes talent.”
The difference, she points out, is in the intention that goes into making clothes.
“When clothing is personally made,” explains Jones, “it can influence others.
It brings energy to a moment.”
Jones notes that couture isn’t limited to the atelier.
Rather, it’s a state of mind that embraces slow fashion.
it’s possible for you to have a couture experience by “thrifting, deconstructing things.
Learning how to style things.”
Approaching dressing with intention is process-oriented.
