Slow Fashion
Karen Templer started Slow Fashion October, to start discussion and explore the wide range of topics related to sustainable fashion. You can read more about it on her (fabulous) blog.
I have already been inspired by reading other peoples stories and am looking forward to reading even more. It makes me excited to hear I so many of you thinking about this topic and making changes to how you work and make. Here is my (late) story for week 1 of the#slowfashionoctober / @slowfashionoctober.
When I was a child, I was always making something. I tried my hand at embroidery, drawing, knitting, sewing, origami, macramé and probably more. However, besides the drawing, nothing stuck. It wasn't until I started my fashion education in 2003 that I got …show more content…
serious about making, and since then I have done a lot of sewing! And all that sewing made me understand the energy that goes into making clothes shouldn't be wasted by treating garments as a disposable commodity. I started reading articles, books, went to lectures and watched documentaries about the unfashionable side of fashion.
However, when I started working as a fashion designer in a many ways I was following the system that had so many flaws.
Two collections per year, overproducing, using fabrics without knowing anything about where or how they are made, and on top of that I overworked myself thinking it was how it's supposed to be. Well, it didn't work and I pulled the plug for almost a year. I used that time to focus on doing the bare minimum to get by and thinking about how I could run a sustainable business that was also sustainable for me as a maker. I stopped producing collections, now I only make clothing to order and tiny batches for Groos (an amazing concept store where I sell my collection). Did I figure everything out yet? Well...Let's just say it´s a work in progress.
A relatively new skill that I took up, is knitting. When I started my collaborating with Granny's Finest I decided to at least try to learn the basics. Fast forward 2 years later and I am not only still knitting...I love to (kn)it! Making your own fabric by hand, stitch by stitch, row by row...it always amazes me to see a project slowly grow into a wearable piece. I also appreciate the pace of knitting, slow and steady, repetitive and meditative. Slow fashion at it's
best.
I have already been inspired by reading other peoples stories and am looking forward to reading even more. It makes me excited to hear I so many of you thinking about this topic and making changes to how you work and make. Here is my (late) story for week 1 of the#slowfashionoctober / @slowfashionoctober.
When I was a child, I was always making something. I tried my hand at embroidery, drawing, knitting, sewing, origami, macramé and probably more. However, besides the drawing, nothing stuck. It wasn't until I started my fashion education in 2003 that I got …show more content…
serious about making, and since then I have done a lot of sewing! And all that sewing made me understand the energy that goes into making clothes shouldn't be wasted by treating garments as a disposable commodity. I started reading articles, books, went to lectures and watched documentaries about the unfashionable side of fashion.
However, when I started working as a fashion designer in a many ways I was following the system that had so many flaws.
Two collections per year, overproducing, using fabrics without knowing anything about where or how they are made, and on top of that I overworked myself thinking it was how it's supposed to be. Well, it didn't work and I pulled the plug for almost a year. I used that time to focus on doing the bare minimum to get by and thinking about how I could run a sustainable business that was also sustainable for me as a maker. I stopped producing collections, now I only make clothing to order and tiny batches for Groos (an amazing concept store where I sell my collection). Did I figure everything out yet? Well...Let's just say it´s a work in progress.
A relatively new skill that I took up, is knitting. When I started my collaborating with Granny's Finest I decided to at least try to learn the basics. Fast forward 2 years later and I am not only still knitting...I love to (kn)it! Making your own fabric by hand, stitch by stitch, row by row...it always amazes me to see a project slowly grow into a wearable piece. I also appreciate the pace of knitting, slow and steady, repetitive and meditative. Slow fashion at it's
best.