Sustainable fashion an textiles, Kate Fletcher, Chapter 5 - Fashion, Needs and Consumption

I have always been told to reduce before I reuse and recycle. The chapter on Fashion, needs and consumption relates directly to this push to change the way people think about clothing and fashion, building “a new vision for fashion that satisfies needs and minimizes poverties.” (Pg 122)

Fletcher speaks about the importance of fashion to human culture – how it proclaims who we are etc etc but in doing this we must also recognize the “urgency of the sustainability agenda.”

What really captured my attention in the chapter is the idea that garments create, sustain and evoke social integration, relationships and creativity within society. “Relationships can be fostered by designing garments that encourage us to ask deep questions about our sense of place in the natural world…It is about designing confidence and capability-including pieces that encourage versatility, inventiveness, personalization and individual participation.” In conjunction with these ideas, Fletcher also talks about the “new aesthetic” that creates a connection between the consumer and the natural world and how the clothing they are wearing communicates this. “Aesthetics are important to sustainability because they act as a great social attractor, an outlet for ideas, a form of cross referencing and an agent for change.” Through informing people about sustainability though a trend of clothing (e.g. unisex dressing) you are bringing about a change in thinking in our consumerism society for good. This may be as simple as green stitching as American Apparel uses on their sustainably friendly clothing or the Kate Sylvester ‘Made in New Zealand tags that sits along the price tag of her Made in New Zealand garments. One can hope that one day that made in New Zealand tag will be as important as the price tag as it is to a lot of consumers already.

In conclusion, I really like this idea that a garment should integrate society, enhance relationships and increase thinking about sustainability. I believe that in the current economical situation, people look for more than just a ‘trend fix’ when looking for any type of clothing. Conversely they want a story, or an idea behind the piece that sustains as individual relationship. I see this all the time when I work at Kate Sylvester – people want to know what the collection is about and how the print was developed and what fabric it is etc etc. These ideas as not only fantastic for sustainability and slowing down fast fashion but they are also a great marketing scheme for a company with a background like Alain. Therefore, I want this collection to stand out as being versatile, educating, durable, innovative but most of all engaging. I can imagine people coming into a store and looking at draped jackets/pants etc and thinking is this men’s of women’s, how do I wear this, what is this made out of etc. At this point they either try it on and do something individual with it or they ask the shop assistant and immediately are engaged into a conversation. I want the collection to not only be made in New Zealand but look like it is made in New Zealand also. This goes right from the weather conditions in different cities (e.g. could have the Wellington jacket, Auckland jacket etc) to the tags that inform consumers where exactly there garment started and ended.

Time to start designing more!