Slow and sustainable: Austin fashion show displays ‘antithesis of fast fashion’

Written by Clara Snyder | Reporter

The Slow Spring Fashion Festival took place Saturday in Austin, showcasing looks from designers who use sustainable methods to produce clothing. Starting in 2022, the festival has had a to focus On finding unique ways to grow a community around the slow fashion movement – a movement that contrasts with the fast fashion industry.

“Fast fashion” It refers to clothing produced in large quantities in a quick and inexpensive manner, which motivates consumers to purchase trendy styles at a low price. Industry represents 10% of annual global carbon dioxide emissions and has been linked to use Exploitative and unethical labor practices In order to make supply meet demand.

Leah BurriOne of the festival’s four founders described slow fashion as the opposite of fast fashion.

“Fast fashion encourages heavy consumption, rapid trend recycling, a lot of waste,… [and] “It creates an expectation that clothes aren’t supposed to last that long because you can go and buy more,” Puri said. “Slow fashion is the exact opposite.”

Slow fashion puts intentionality and care into the production of clothing by embracing alternative methods to create new fashions, Puri said. Examples of slow fashion include thrift shopping, exchanging or reusing unwanted clothing, and recycling discarded clothing by using it to create a new item in a process called upcycling.

“Fast fashion has created an expectation that clothes are supposed to be very cheap when they’re not, and if they’re cheap, the costs will be transferred to something else, whether that’s the planet or the people who make it,” Puri said. “So a lot of what we want to do is educate people about all the costs associated with fashion.”

The show began with a panel discussion on circular living and sustainable lifestyle. One of the committee members at the event and Encouraging Founder Kelly Retlewski said circular living contrasts with a linear economy that doesn’t take into account a product once it has extended its useful life.

“[Circularity] “It starts with the end in mind — there is no waste,” Retlewski said. “It starts with what is there and what is already here. It is an exercise of intention and finesse in every aspect.

Between two shows, the event showcased looks from nine clothing designers and included accessories from the designers Junk dog And Kismet. One law displays patterns from UglyFlex, Devism, Recovery. And YvieStyleItAnd he followed him Ver Sauvage, Dear Ivy, Previous waste, Future Kind Studio And Kansas Garner In the second act.

Camden MontagneThe 21-year-old founder and designer of Prior Waste said she was very excited to participate in the fashion show for the first time. Montagne is self-taught and began reusing clothing saved during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“When quarantine happened and I had absolutely nothing to do, I started drawing on the jeans I had been saving,” Montagne said. “After that, I had made so many things, I was like, ‘Would anyone want to buy this?’ People have already done that.”

After selling her designs at local markets and on Depop, Montang said she made the move to turn her business into a clothing brand in March 2023. Today, her designs include repurposing ties, denim waistbands and denim pockets into skirts and shirts.

Since she’s not a “cut-and-sew” designer who makes things from scratch, Montange said she’s excited to be involved in a fashion show that embraces her style of production.

“Being a part of this means a lot to me, because I didn’t think there was a space for designers like me to do what I do,” Montang said. “I never thought modeling would be something I would do. Since I reframe things, sometimes the people I talk to don’t think of me as a designer.

Montange said she believes in sustainability in fashion because there are already so many great pieces of clothing out there, and she loves breathing new life into those pieces. Another aspect of sustainable practices in fashion that she values ​​is affordability.

“When I started, I was just a poor college kid who wanted to make stuff, but then I realized that everyone who wanted to buy this was probably also a broke college kid like me,” Montang said. “Making things out of old clothes that cost me little money to buy allows me to keep prices affordable and keep everything sustainable.”

Perry said one of the reasons they included the word “festival” in the name of the event is because it has a celebratory tone, and celebration guides a lot of what they want to do.

“Of course we want to educate people and bring people together, but we want to do it in a way that looks really engaging and celebrates the great work that’s already been done,” Puri said.

Although the event focuses on fashion and style, Puri said a lot of the lessons they try to teach are much more than just fashion.

“We think slow fashion can serve as a model [because] “These principles apply to many areas of life,” Puri said. “It’s a lot about paying attention to the impact you’re making and working to make a better impact.”

For updates on future Slow Fashion Festival events and performances, visit Instagram @slowfashionfestatx.