Fair Trade and Sustainability in Fashion

Sustainability has finally reached the fashion world and it’s on the rise! The amount of designers working with fairly traded materials has increased massively throughout the years and so has the buying audience. People are starting to become more aware and interested in where and under what circumstances their clothes are being produced. The controversial working conditions of seamstresses all over the globe are no longer left out.

High street brands like Zara and H&M already have taken a step in the right direction in producing their clothes under water saving techniques. Special organic collections like H&M’s “conscious collection” show that fair trade fashion doesn’t have to be expensive but still can be stylish at the same time. The Swedish brand even uploaded a list of its suppliers and talks about the fair living wage for seamstresses on their website. But still, we’ve got a long way to go.

Speaking with Astrid D. , a young feminist and environmental activist from Upper Austria, we learned what sustainability is really all about. The main focus lies on nature itself, sustainability makes sure all techniques and materials used tend to be as natural and raw as possible. The natural resources should not be exhausted completely, but allowed to grow normally without any interruption by humans. The goal is not to destroy or damage the environment. We take what we are given, but leave behind what is not meant for us. This theory might sound good while saying but is way harder to accomplish in the brutal reality that’s called economy.

Next to the nature aspect, the creation procedure of garments is also taking a big part in the fair trade vision. When we asked Astrid how she would describe the current sustainability market when it comes to fashion, she mentioned that the fast growing market especially sets its focus on recycling as well as upcyling already existing products.

“The process of recycling and turning an old shirt into this new beautiful dress, it is kind of a new modern form of art”

“They [the designers] acknowledge the natural resources we already have and try to make the best out of it” she explains, that’s why the process of designing and making the clothes is so different compared to other non sustainability designers. So it’s a wide known misbelief that fashion can’t be stylish and fair at the same time.

“The creativity level of sustainability designers is wider, they see things from a different point of view”

Even though the green activist thinks the alternative scene is growing and people are becoming more aware about the production of their clothing, sustainable fashion hasn’t reached the mainstream high streets just yet. “The field is growing and it definitely can reach out to a wider audience, but as of right now, I don’t think it has what it takes to become the next popular mainstream object”. Not because of its unique style or the higher price range, but because of the people who are still more attracted to cheap clothing and leaving their ethical principles at home when entering the next big shopping mall. This is based on the inherited laziness of humans and the aspect that sustainable fashion hasn’t fully reached its potential yet. “You have to shop at certain places or online stores to really have that size comparing selection you get when shopping in the big stores”. So the main issue is not the actual price, as often thought, but the availability.

This could easily be solved with bigger companies offering more fair trade or supportable collections or even the creation of an online shop that involves a higher number of sustainable designers. If we can provide a more effortless access for potential costumers, people would become more interested in buying.

However in the end it all starts and falls with the people. The demand is determined by the supply. If we manage to get into the consumer’s head, we can finally reach the goal of fair wages and the preservation and funding of natural resources.

At the same time we all know what makes your new dress even more beautiful. The knowledge that it has been produced with natural and fairly traded materials as well as the fact that it is supporting the seamstresses all over the world and their families. So why don’t we wear local, and think global?

A big thank you to Astrid D., a true nature girl with the unending devotion to make this world a greener place and people more aware of their consumption. Thank you Astrid, for this kind and thoughtful Interview.

Love & Loss - Fashion and Mortality @ Lentos Art Museum Linz, Austria

Even though Upper Austria (or Austria in general) is quite a small country, it has a lot to offer when it comes to cultural events. When I read the post, which was provided by the Vogue Germany Facebook page, that this fabulous fashion exhibition is coming to Linz, I was more than excited I was thrilled to be exact.

Nothing brings Love and Loss better together than the world of fashion. What today is loved can be thrown into the trashcan tomorrow and is lost forever. Trends can never actually achieve that mortality status, unless your name is Karl Lagerfeld and you are the head designer of Chanel, of course. People get rid of clothes everyday, not because they are no longer wearable, but they never reach the mortality level.

The exhibition is massively influenced by the 80s era till today which appears to be the generation of melancholy and living the attitude of rebellion. The experimental expression is mirrored by the dark paintings, which greet you in a mysterious way, while entering the exhibition. But at the same time the hall is full of light and filled with intense dark pigments.

Designers like Maison Margiela (formally known as Maison Martin Margiela) and Rei Kawakobu as well as other outstanding designers, show certain deformation can be part of the fashion concept and simultaneously be considered as a new form of art - it’s the mixture that really stands out here. Just like the now famously popular (and loved by the whole Kardashian clan) ripped jeans, which were first brought to life by designs of Margiela himself, show that deformation after all can be wearable and found in our own closets.

 

The new aesthetic is also dominated by Alexander McQueen, which is not surprising, considering his massive influence when it comes to the dark place called “creativity” in the fashion world. The fabrics used by the designers, which are displayed in the exhibition, are quiet odd and may seem inconvenient at first.

The “crying dress” from Mika Satomi and Hannah Perner-Wilson’s 2012 collection, better known as the collective duo called “Kobakant” who are collaborating since the mid 2000s, are famous for using electronics and their explorative use of textile crafts. The combination of LEDs with cotton, feathers with copper wire and silk with capacitors are expressing one criticism in mind,  the “high-tech” society we live in today. Against all odds, this beautiful and unique dress is still made to be wearable and continues the spirit that their pieces are made to “better fit our personal needs and desires”.

“The crying Dress”, Kobakant, 2012.

The exhibition sticks truly by its name as the dark colours, which without a doubt represent the “loss” part, surround you. The “love” part on the other hand, is not recognizable at first, as it comes in lots of different shapes and patterns. Or you might even love to lose, which would sum up both, the fashion aspect and the mortality, which comes within.

When I first saw the Viktor & Rolf piece “The Coral Dress” from the spring collection 2010, I was quiet shocked someone would destroy something so beautiful on purpose. But then I had to realize, there was no way this dress could ever reach mortality, it was doomed either way. They basically saved the piece from being destroyed, by destroying it first, in this case - with a chainsaw and the surprisingly very geometric outcome. This may sound overly poetic, but nonetheless that’s the exact feeling you get delivered in this exhibition, it’s a strong combination of melancholy and the dedication to black humour. The black humour aspect is especially based on the thought in the world of fashion everything needs to look neat and as close to perfection as possible.

However sometimes the rebels’ aesthetic can be the key to success. We more and more see models on the runway that don’t look like the other ones walking behind them, they let us focus on their uniqueness and combine it with the clothes and designers they are representing.

It is safe to say uniqueness in its own kind is the most fitting way to describe the Love and Loss Exhibition at the Lentos Art Museum. All those unique pieces next to each other may have a similar philosophy and intention behind it, but the designers express them in a different way and look. This is what makes them so special.

Note: If you’re a fashion or art enthusiast living near or in Austria, I highly recommend this exciting exhibition at the Lentos Museum of Art, Linz. (Entry cost: 8 Euros)