Slow fashion. Why is she becoming more and more popular?

We bought an item on sale, wore it a couple of times and put it aside... It’s the wrong color, it’s too tight, it’s not very comfortable. How many of these things do each of us have? How many things are out of fashion, but continue to hang in the closet or are sent to a landfill? And there they rot, do not decompose for years, and poison the environment. On the scale of one family, excess clothing is not perceived as something critical. But on a global scale, this is a disaster!

Relevant for everyone!

Reference! According to research, Hong Kong residents throw away about 1,500 tired T-shirts in one minute.

Let's do the math: with an average T-shirt weight of 100 g, this is almost 150 kg. In an hour it turns out approximately 9 tons. All these mountains of textiles release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Impressive?

That is why at the beginning of our century the Slow fashion movement or “slow fashion” appeared.

Reference! The movement calls for people to stop shopping in chain stores. And thereby stop sponsoring poor ecology and garment factories with inhumane working conditions.

In the short time that has passed since the birth of the movement, many famous fashion houses and famous people have joined it.

Reference! Brands Hermes, Dior, designer Stella Jean make their collections from handmade fabrics.

Why is fashion slow?

If you think about it, Slow fashion has existed for almost the entire history of mankind. Want facts? Please!

• The wedding dress was passed down from generation to generation.
• A smart suit was taken out of the chest only on major holidays.
• The fur coat was worn for at least ten years.

Only in the last few decades has everything changed. A consumption boom has begun, an item becomes irrelevant during the season, almost everyone has a lot of “random” clothes in their wardrobe.

Important! Mindless consumption, the pursuit of quantity is irrational and unecological! The founder of the Slow fashion movement, fashion consultant Kate Fletcher, insists on this.

Adherents of the current believe that endless changes in fashion trends lead to nothing good. It's not so much a matter of quickly changing things in the wardrobe, but in relation to the labor of clothing manufacturers. It is usually difficult and very poorly paid.

In addition, corporations, in pursuit of profit, do not pay attention to safety. This applies not only to employees, but also to materials.

Important! Making the fashion industry civilized and well-paid labor is the goal of movement activists.

Yes, this will lead to more expensive things, but at the same time they will become more valuable. As soon as clothes are again treated as valuable, the approach to purchasing them will immediately change. What will come to the fore is not immediate adherence to fashion, but the durability of materials, their quality, and the possibility of alteration.

In other words, the fashion wheel will slow down, many things will become “out of time, out of trends”. You don’t have to throw away your jacket just because the cuffs are frayed, or your blouse because it’s not in trend.

Important! Slow fashion will bring back into our lives an interest in individual tailoring in the atelier.

And the studio has previously offered clothing restoration services.

Principles of slow fashion

Let's take a closer look at the basics of movement.

First principles

In the early days of the movement, there were few principles.

• Followers called boycott mass produced clothing.
• Another one of the first calls: give preference to manual work.

Current principles

Over the decade of existence of Slow fashion, the principles have changed.

• Clothing should be environmentally friendly, that is, made from natural fabrics.
• The issue of acquisition should be approached thoughtfully, giving preference to quality and classic performance.
• Clothes need to be restored, remade, recycled. For example, threads can be used repeatedly: knitting a new product from unraveled old clothes.
• The best way out is to master independent production. If this is not possible, then buy from local small producers.
• Donate everything that has become small or large to those in need.
• Buy vintage items or find them in your grandmother's closet.

Following these principles will definitely lead to fewer purchases. So things will no longer be “disposable”.

And the thesis "quality is more important than quantity» will lead to systemic changes in the clothing industry. This approach will force the business industry to move towards openness and honesty in production matters:

• do not abuse synthetic materials;
• do not use toxic dyes;
• provide social guarantees to workers.

At first it was difficult to believe that brand owners would be loyal to such ideas and would be willing to give up at least a little profit. But, surprisingly, it was the mass market giants who were the first to invest in companies using old technologies.

Reasons for the popularity of slow fashion

It is believed that in recent years there has been some revaluation in the mass consciousness.

Caring for the environment

We began to think more often about the environment, in any case, about our impact on it. A striking example is the increased popularity of handmade work, the desire to give a second life to old things, and separate waste collection.

Desire to show individuality

Other motivations for people to pay close attention to slow fashion have to do with individuality.

Mass market leads to the fact that at one public transport stop you can meet several people wearing the same clothes.

When tailoring things for a specific person, this is unlikely to happen. Individual tailoring is always a single, unique thing.

Important! An undoubted advantage of custom tailoring: a professional tailor always takes into account the characteristics of the client’s figure and adjusts the patterns to suit them.

And by making changes to the cut, it ensures that the thing hides flaws and emphasizes advantages.

But everything has a downside, and it also exists in custom tailoring: it is impossible to predict the result. Even experienced craftsmen sometimes make mistakes.

There are also advantages to buying ready-made items: defects are visible at the first fitting. It didn’t fit - I didn’t buy it! If you bought it, you don’t mind throwing it away: the price is low.

And spoiled expensive fabric means serious damage to your wallet. However, if you set a goal and make calculations, then a conscious approach to purchasing helps to save significantly.

A good coat will last for several seasons, and your shoes won't fall apart on the third day. This means that you will not need additional funds for frequent replacement of wardrobe items.

It is quite reasonable to buy quality things: they are the ones most often called “favorite”. Still wearing a skirt from five years ago? You can safely consider yourself an adherent of Slow fashion!