The Saturday Sustainability Show — Position, Juxtaposition and Demonstration

On Saturday (27/4/2019), we saw a sustainable fashion show that consisted of second-hand, swapped, rented and upcycled apparel. It was housed at the rooftop of the recently opened Design Orchard, co-created by the Fashion Revolution and Raffles College of Higher Education and it featured The Fashion Pulpit, Rentadella and Style Tribute.

Before the show started, as I was talking to Raye Padit, the Founder of the Fashion Pulpit, about how excited I was to see his pieces, I couldn’t help but notice the bright lights and billboards from the other buildings. I remember Selina Altomonte, Editor-in-Chief for Honeycombers Singapore, saying how jarring it was to have a fashion show on sustainability surrounded by fast-fashion brands in Orchard. Then, I heard Tammy Gan, the Founder of Conscious Living Collective at Yale-NUS, talk about the launch of a “sustainable fast-fashion line” from H&M situated across the street.

But there we were, watching the show. Although I do shop second-hand, I’m always amazed by how beautiful these pieces can be — the golden finds in thrift stores, how we style the clothes and the little hand-sewn details. I remember the models holding up signs at the end of the show, including one with hashtag #whomademyclothes. I am also truly heartened by the full venue! As the movement for sustainability and sustainable fashion grows, I’m glad that people are here to support the show and learn more about these issues. However, I couldn’t help but wonder that our intended target audience is people walking along Orchard Road — the masses. It is tough to get people to think about sustainable and ethical fashion when so many of the effects are “out of sight, out of mind”. It’s almost too easy to disassociate the garment workers who died in Rana Plaza in 2013 from their blood that stain the clothes we wear.

It is especially hard to market an idea or a lifestyle, but it is easy to market a product. That got me looking at the enormous H&M branch at Somerset. The novel textile materials like pineapple leather, orange-peel fibres created by H&M are touted by many in the industry as “the next big thing”. The fact that they use waste to create these materials and are possibly biodegradable is a huge win for the environment … right? Here is where I take issue. Innovation is amazing, but is encouraging consumers to keep buying the next fashion line really that sustainable? Not really. There is still an unbridled level of consumption. In fact, the feel-good factor of buying eco-friendly fashion may spur them to purchase more. The mindset never really changes and that is worrying.

What really is sustainable are the initiatives that the participating organisations are involved in. Second-hand, swapping, renting and upcycling are all amazing ways to make the economy circular and I call this is Method 1. You could also be buying new environmentally sustainable pieces and recycling when you’re done. This is Method 2. Both methods aim to close the loop in the circular economy, but the circumference for Method 1 is smaller than Method 2. This means that Method 1 takes less time, water, energy, manpower and transportation before you can use the same textile resource again. Overall, reselling or repurposing clothes is an undoubtedly more environmentally friendly option. I’m not alluding to the idea that recycling is useless, but it sure means recycling should not be our first choice.

As I was admiring the show, I can’t help but feel that the fact that it is smack in the centre of the height of fast-fashion consumerism makes it a demonstration of sorts. It is a demonstration on the alternative forms of fashion available. It is a demonstration of how beautiful “old”, “pre-loved” and “used” clothes really are. It is a demonstration to all the other fashion brands out there about how viable this solution is. These clothes are not just aesthetically appealing, there are lived stories in every piece. It is also a demonstration of openness. Design Orchard is conveniently situated in a location accessible by the masses — this openness is the commitment we have to make to educate every person about sustainable fashion.

Through the fashion show, its physical location and the conversations, they forced me to navigate through the direction that we want to head into with regards to sustainable fashion. In my opinion, the old clothes of today will be the fashion of tomorrow. But, of course, as Coco Chanel famously said, elegance is refusal.

.MOV