It's been a big week of negatives for fashion, surely our most compelling contradiction. Pretty much all of us are slaves to fashion - and this week, we were reminded that too much of which is still literally made by slaves. Fast fashion is trashing the planet and pretty much every person in its supply chain wake. The chances are greater than 70% that pretty much any fashion out of a big manufacturer, that's been made in Asia has been made by someone who could be classed as a slave. The fabrics are chemical laden and the post consumer story is pretty much landfill.A growing band of Australian designers, manufacturers and sellers are committed to local manufacture and transparent supply chains and Melbourne Fashion week is celebrating a few of them. You can get tickets to some events for minimal cost or visit locations for free. Here are 3 experiences that are must do chances of the week.
Nobody Denim is inviting Melbourne Fashion Week visitors to its vertically integrated factory and experience where their jeans are washed, dyed and distressed. Nobody Denim is committed to local manufacturing, with this visit, you get the chance to have face-to-face conversations with the design and operations team on what transparency means, and what makes the Nobody Denim business truly unique.
Nobody Denim’s 45-minute tour will take place in the family-built Denim Laundry and you can get tickets here.
Teaming up with The National Trust, The Fashion Advocate is hosting an Independent Runway featuring their brands of Ethical Designers - a culmination of indigenous traditions, artisan crafts, circularity and innovation, embodied in fashion.The Fashion Advocate Identity runway is on Saturday 2nd March 2019 and you can get tickets here to experience slow fashion on the runway, enjoy an afternoon garden party with live music, locally sourced cocktails and canapes, and contribute to a better fashion future. Labels on parade include:Ricepaper The Label | The ANJELMS Project | Smitten Merino | Colour Coded | Alcana | BAIS | Tatyana Design | Shapes In The Sand | Anthea Crawford | Hause of Glassborow | Loris Clothing | Zoe.O The Label | PITRA | Why Mary.
Clare Press is chairing a session at Deakin Edge Theatre in Federation Square called, "Save The Planet". Clare is a passionate advocate for ethical fashion, the presenter of the Wardrobe Crisis podcast and Australian VOGUE's Sustainability Editor-at-Large. She speaks widely on sustainable and ethical fashion, fashion history, fashion activism, feminism and the fashion media. With a huge fan base, if you ever wanted to get up close and ask questions, this is your chance, but you will need tickets to the whole day events on 8th March.
If you are in Melbourne and can support any of these events, please do. The more we support ethical, local and good fashion houses and fashion advocates, the more we knock out fast fashion.
Fast fashion brings down everything. It is a true thief in the night on every level. When clothing screws down supply chains to be made stupidly cheap, it puts downward pricing & supply chain pressure on more expensive garments as well. And with that pressure, corners get cut and even more people suffer, beyond the fast fashion industry. One good example is that even a high end label made in Italy doesn't mean someone was paid high dollars to make it. In fact, some Italian artisan sewers, working at home, earn about the same as their Asian factory counterparts relative to their economies and that makes them slaves as well.Support local, support what's good and don't buy more than you need.