Slow fashion is a new trend, part of a larger slow lifestyle movement. This is a protest against the accelerating pace of consumption and a thoughtless attitude towards oneself and natural resources. You don’t have to look far for examples — fast food; «fast fashion»; reading cheap romance novels (“loveburgers”); constant haste; neurotic dependence on gadgets in adults (the eternal “connection”) and unfortunate twitchy children whom their parents drag around mugs, so that the child does not have enough time to play.
The classic aphorism festina lente (“hurry slowly”) is relevant today in all areas of life. Slow Movement activists suggest stopping and pausing: one of the most famous exercises in a solid MBCT psychotherapy course is to slowly eat a raisin, rolling it in your mouth and running your tongue over all its folds and bumps1. By the way, the “slow food” movement, which returns the joy of taste sensations to people, is a blood relative of “slow fashion”.
Slow fashion combines several aspects. The first of these is an ethical factor (in relation to people — for example: to boycott the products of factories where workers are paid pennies, child labor is used and production is not ensured with poor working conditions). The second is already a venerable tradition of ecological fashion — the use of natural materials, the rejection of the use of leather and fur; taboo on testing cosmetic products on animals. The third is conscious consumption, changing everyday habits. Slow fashion activists have made a set of rules for reasonable consumption2. These are the commandments:
- Refuse the endless purchase of new cheap things that are fashionable this season; instead, try to wear the same high-quality classic clothes. Try to diversify it with accessories and individual finishes (“customizing”). Think carefully before buying a new thing, whether you really need it.
- If the thing is a little worn or holed, repair or remake it, and not throw it away; take care of your clothes;
- Buying clothes in vintage stores or swapping with friends (“swapping”, “swishing”); do not neglect family stocks — the clothes of mothers and grandmothers, if any.
- Use all the possibilities of recycling (recycling) and prefer organic materials;
- Support local manufacturers and designers; cultivate manual labor;
- Be thoughtful about shopping: study the origin of clothing; Discuss the principles of slow fashion with friends and collect information on this topic.
- What our clothes say about us
Slow fashion activists from time to time conduct demonstrative experiments, demonstrating from personal experience the possibility of a new approach. In 2011, Rebecca Burgess made it her goal to wear clothes made by local artisans in California for one year. She abandoned clothes made of synthetic materials and preferred natural fabrics. Throughout the year, her wardrobe consisted of an alpaca wool sweater, a cotton skirt, cotton trousers and a pair of tops, also made of thick cotton. But getting used to the restrictions, even for a motivated Rebecca, was not easy: “I woke up and thought:“ This is your uniform. Burgess stopped buying herself new clothes and found that a lot of free time and energy was freed up in return. She used this time to create her signature model of new jeans, sewn from Californian cotton. Rebecca grew her own indigo for coloring. Even the buttons were made from natural material — ram’s horns. As a result, in four years, her team made 3 pairs of jeans. It may not be much, but what we end up with is a real product of slow manual labor and ethical production. Such jeans will be worn for a long time and, most importantly, will provide the owner with a pleasant feeling of spiritual comfort and, hopefully, confidence in the right actions. Isn’t this a priceless moment worth slowing down the pace of our hectic lives?
1. Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, mbct.co.uk
2. Learn more at Slowfashionforward.org
3. Article «Rebecca Burgess grows your jeans» at modernfarmer.com