sustainability

The Coherence Gap

Reading Time: 2 minutes

The clash between sustainability and fast fashion’s growth


Our society has a problem with consistency, revealing a glaring coherence gap. Indeed one point seems quite clear: what people say is not consistent with what they do. It’s like coherence is a fault, or it’s not necessary. So you are allowed to say something and then do the opposite without being held accountable.

Consistency and sustainability


Magazines these days released the news that Shein, the fast-fashion giant, is raising funds at 100 billion USD value.
Considering that their price range is around 10 – 20 euros, two things are certain. First, the materials have zero quality. Second, their production chains raise serious doubts. If 15 euros is the price of one dress, how much are workers getting paid to make that garment?
Quality can be something one could renounce, but an ethical production chain is the foundation of a healthy society. And therefore, crucial in any discussion, even about sustainability.

Yet no questions arise in those who buy Shein. In fact, in a moment when communication and marketing are all about sustainability, the fast-fashion giant is growing enormously. And there is similar news too. Recently Primark opened in Milano, and people were packed in line to get in.

Overcoming the coherence gap


People talk about sustainability and maybe show up at ‘Friday’s for Future’, but they buy fast fashion. Why?
Everyone, adults and teenagers, say something, but they do the opposite. This lack of consistency reveals that sustainability is just a marketing trend. It is a popular topic, something people like to discuss to show they are up-to-date, but they don’t really care.

In fact, if they were consistent, they wouldn’t buy fast fashion at all! And the case of low budgets is just an excuse to avoid the change since the business model is profitable for corporations and “convenient” for short-sighted masses. Vintage items are accessible to anyone, and nothing is more sustainable.

So, here’s the way to overcome the coherence gap: let actions follow thoughts. In the same direction, of course!

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Purchasing For The Trashcan

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Exploring the cycle of fashion trends


Purchasing for the trashcan has become a symbol of the relentless cycle of fashion trends. Items are quickly discarded in favor of the next fleeting style.

Ever since the rise of fast fashion and fashion influencers, we have stepped into a social construction where having endless access to clothing and styles is associated with glamour and the elite lifestyle.
Styles from last week are being replaced by this week’s fashion. Shelves are clearing. And ‘clothing hauls’ are posted on social media platforms by the various fashion influencers who are associated with that brand.

Examining the lie


The unfortunate result, the viewers of these videos are blinded by the heaps of clothing. And therefore, cannot see that these influencers not only were paid to show the clothing. But the clothing was gifted to them for free.
The reality of purchasing a plentiful array of clothing every single week is less of an actuality and more of a cloak of an idealistic utopian fashion fantasy. A trick that has succeeded in blinding all consumers.
Celebrities and influencers are the medium to present this idea of life that is not rationally attainable. The everyday consumer is, then, pressured to put weekend shopping sprees on their credit card bill. Old fashion in the trash, and wounds on the environment.

The fear of outfit repeating in our elitist society


The conclusive fear of the everyday fashion enthusiast is that in order to be viewed by society as enough, or relevant, they must participate in this cycle of mass fashion waste. In order to never appear in public wearing the same item they wore the week before they must fall obedient to the social norm of endless options, overconsumption, and false realities.

Styling your truth goggles


Rather than succumbing to this false fashion reality, rather than purchasing for the trashcan, try to remember the root of the fashion concept. Remember that fashion isn’t an endless array of styles cycling through it’s tailoring various attire to your own body type, skin tone, hair colour, and personal preference. Fashion is having the ability and privilege to choose a unique and quality piece from a line-up, paying the price for quality, and keeping it in your wardrobe for your lifetime. Then finally, when you’re doing your spring cleaning, you come across that one blouse that made you feel so beautiful. Then you remember, I bought this blouse before my first interview. And this was the blouse that gave me the confidence to be proud of my work for the first time.

Fashion has the ability to induce feelings that you might not have been able to create on your own. Fashion is your uniform. And it’s what makes you remember who you are and what you are presenting to the rest of the world. And fashion is not a logo on a t-shirt proclaiming to the world that you can afford to buy a lie.

✍️ A piece written by Gavriel Ewart. An American girl studying fashion and communication at Cattolica university in Milan and interning for suite123

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The New Categorising

Reading Time: 2 minutes

A human need, or an empty extremisation?


The new trend of categorising—or the need to assign labels that define where specific groups should fit—is growing rapidly. Terms like genderless, sustainable, recycled, upcycled, and inclusive are some of the most popular labels in fashion today. Yet, while we see these pretty, or not really so, boxes clearly labelled, they often feel too artificial, fake.

Categorising: a marketing byproduct


Why are brands so obsessed with labelling their work? And, in parallel, why do people need these labels? To identify themselves? or to be represented?

Jean-Paul Gaultier created the majority of the fashion topics that are trending now. Yet, during the ’80s and ’90s, there were no labels to claim in the fashion world. It was, instead, a celebration of freedom—both from the designer’s perspective and for those who wore his creations.
Fast forward to 2022, and the obsession with labelling has exploded. Genderless and sustainable are among the most popular, with nearly every brand now claiming to be genderless. Similarly, terms like recycled and upcycled have surged to the forefront. Clearly, it’s a trend.

Coming from a family of seamstresses, disassembling a pair of trousers to make a skirt or transforming a shirt into a blouse was part of our daily routine—essentially, the essence of upcycling and recycling. Moreover, in our boutique, we always offered men’s items to women and women’s items to men, but we never felt the need to categorise them. This, in many ways, embodies the true spirit of genderless fashion, inclusion, and diversity.

Even though about five years ago, we started focusing more on genderless or recycled as valuable concepts, now brands overuse them. Indeed these leabel became so mainstream that they are abused or intentionally misleading, as in the case of sustainability.

We are not happy to be classified. So we wonder, what happened recently? What does the new categorising mean?

We believe that the less meaning we find in brands and their products, the more they rely on labels to make their offerings easier to market.

The supply far exceeds the number of people in the world who can actually purchase these products—the demand. To reach the masses, brands have lowered the bar. And the more they lower the bar, the less value they offer. This is where the need for aggressive marketing and labelling comes into play.

In conclusion, labelling is an attempt to legitimise and promote an otherwise hollow system. Rather than focusing on what truly matters—the substance—they rely on labels to create a facade of value.

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The Challenge of Selling Sustainability To the Youth

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Identity or Identical: discovering your own style


Throughout many generations, there has always been the chapter of one’s young adult life when the opportunity of freedom and finding themselves is made available.
A topic within the discovery of oneself is figuring out your preferred style of clothing. Although this topic has always been apparent, it has flourished more than ever in recent years since more styles from the past have resurfaced and more alternative designs are being discovered.

Today’s youth are born into a society where they have effortless access to every clothing style imaginable. Indeed, they are given more flexibility upon various purchases because of discounted stores, and thanks to fast fashion, shelves are constantly reloaded with new trends.
They rely on mass production and endless options in order to discover the type of person they want to be in society. They use fashion as a method of showing the world who they are. And how they want to be portrayed.

Youth and sustainability: mixed messages


A strong message of environmentalism, as well as activism for unjust labour and mass waste in the fashion industry, have been shoved in the faces of many young adults. They are the future. So they should be informed because inevitably, they will have to be the ones to fix it.
But how are young people supposed to comprehend the immense troubles of mass production when that is the tool used for constructing their individuality?

Ethical production, made-to-order business strategies, and high-end thrifting apps seem to be one solution to mass waste. But how are the youth expected to contribute to the solution when they are supporting the problem in order to find themselves?

Sustainably identical or identity through corruption


Will sustainability among the youth insinuate an ideal of cloning or constricting youth creativity? There have been many new sustainable brands on the rise recently. So access to creativity and options is not the problem. The problem is general access due to price.

A brand is not truly sustainable unless the price is high. Profits go towards ethically paying for all processes of production, distribution, and finding high-quality environmentally friendly materials. Which are expensive. So does that place a cement barrier between the youth and sustainable living?

How do we expect the new generation to contribute to the solution? When rationally, they are one of the biggest components of the problem.

We inform them, we educate them, and we make them aware. Rather than remaining the problem, they can be one of the biggest solutions.
Since Generation Z and Millenials are what makes up one of the biggest factors in overconsumption, waste, and over-production. Convincing them to halt their current mindset would tear down the entire system.

You can’t continue the unhealthy cycle if there is no one left to buy into the lies.

✍️ A piece written by Gavriel Ewart. An American girl studying fashion and communication at Cattolica university in Milan and interning for suite123

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Mass Production or “Mess” Production?

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Quality vs quantity: exploring the impact of mass production on fashion and society


Mass production is an ongoing global phenomenon. Fast-Fashion, is no doubt, all about mass-production as you think.

Yet, even in the luxury world, high brands nowadays are attempting to produce more than ever to reach a broader range of consumers. Why? Because this is how they maximize profit. Speed and cost are everything they now prioritize. Indeed it’s a matter of speed and greed.

Charles Frederic Worth, an English fashion designer in the early 20th century, is today known as the father of Haute Couture.
His dresses required some fifteen yards of fabric and could take three to four hundred hours to embroider. For one client, the dress even needed a team of thirty seamstresses working full time because everything was entirely made by hand.

Yes, the handmade takes time, but do we still find or do the luxury brands still even care about such craftsman values?

Where are the values which we used to appreciate in the past?

Mass or “mess” production?


Luxury brands are now mass-producing their products to market mass consumers. Targeting a larger audience means bigger profits, they believe. However, their mass production has undervalued the noble past of fashion and diminished the true aesthetic.

They care only about profit, no longer the values.
It is such a “mess production” – in fact.

Resizing and reducing, not maximising


By having in mind the idea of Couture as a meaningful business model, brands should produce less and target a smaller audience. Therefore, selecting the right individuals who are capable of appreciating these values.

A rigid selection is what the brands need to do. They need to select whom to create rather than create for everyone.

“Less” is such a big keyword for luxury brands today, but there is something that should be “more”.
Time. More time for quality.
Because quality takes a lot of effort, patience and creativity. And so more time is a must.
Yet, that is the only way the true values of fashion can be revived.

✍️ A piece written by Kotono Sakai, a Japanese girl studying history and fashion at Cattolica University in Milan and interning for suite123

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