By Kelly Alexander
Sustainable fashion will distinguish those leading the way. This is not just a new way of life nor a trend—it has become the normal within those in the fashion industry that have a bold hold and grip on how the love of the look must also be the love of a new sustainable future.
Many designers have decided to take their creative responsibility to new heights despite fast fashion showing up on every laptop, social media post and corner store. Blazing the trail and using sustainable materials, less water and re-imagining vintage fashion is on the rise.
Designs were meant to create exclusive looks that would excite the eye, dazzle the silhouette, cover and clothe the human body—while lasting from era to era or at least until one outgrew it. Even the vintage pieces were worth their time, thread, stitch and price—a time when a designer was measured by their line’s beauty, durability and material. However, fast fashion or the ready-to-wear look carries a substantially discounted price tag, alluding to the belief that one has gotten over on the brand or designer and is wearing a knock-off for a much cheaper price. Or is it really a much cheaper price? Let’s examine that theory.
We have been consumed with wearing anything similar to a brand that allows us to purchase with just one click. Especially if we can click and purchase with a delivery within 48 hours or less. The price gets us every time and we are proud to wear that item that we just purchased, arriving via front door service, dismissing the fact that it arrived in plastic wrapping. Once opened, the main item is usually in a plastic bag, or I should say each item is in a plastic bag of its own. The item or items purchased are most often made of cheap, highly flammable and toxic plastic synthetic fibers—not the high-end material, or even a sustainable practice that would save us from the toxic emissions that deposit into our largest organ: “the Skin.” According to the “Environmental Innovations Initiative University of Pennsylvania,” we are buying fast fashion at an alarming rate and the practice used to create it is causing the plastic toxins to deposit and graft into our pores.
While wearing these fast fashion items for the look, it is important to know that these fibers and microplastics disperse everywhere, from the ocean to our bloodstream, and even laying to rest in many worldwide landfills. This type of purchasing lifestyle has caused more land and air pollution, as well as health issues. According to The Plastic Pollution Collation, if this is what is happening with fast fashion, what steps would one take to sustain their desired fashion look and purchasing power?
It is a privilege to obtain knowledge and make an educated sustainable fashion choice. It is pay now or pay later—the choice is yours, but there is hope in the form of our trail blazing designers. Many designers within the fashion industry have opened divisions of slow fashion and sustainability through eco-friendly materials, sustainable packaging, re-imagining a fashion piece and even reselling their vintage line.
Many consumers and companies are now pushing for more sustainable fashion lines to be seen and held accountable, as they choose to sponsor a cleaner planet through partnering with such designers that maintain Eco Friendly habits. Here are just a few of our favorites that have made the change:
• Mac Divot: Less water was used in making their line
• Stella McCartney: Use certified recycled, sustainable packaging
• Eileen Fisher: Eco-friendly Designer
• Vivienne Westwood: Brings awareness of sustainable fashion to her shows
• K Alexander: Creates runway shows featuring sustainable fashion designers
Kelly Alexander has been a fashion show shoot choreographer for over 10 years and is an award-winning television host of KAFTV Models Talk since 2020. Alexander is currently speaking on fashion panels and educating on the subject of sustainable fashion and the designers that are blazing the trail.
