Courtesy of Insider Studios
- Experts advise on how people can move away from fast fashion and make sustainable clothing choices.
- How to increase the lifecycle of clothes through thrifting and upcycling while making it your own.
- The conversation was part of Insider's event "For a Better Future: Bridging Culture, Business, and Climate," which took place on Tuesday, April 18, 2023.
- Click here to watch a recording of the full event.
As social media continues to spur on E-commerce, use-and-return policies are becoming more popular with retailers. The returns often aren't restocked and contribute to the 101 million tons of garments put into landfills. Leaders in fashion and sustainability are working together to find a nexus between the two.
"Sustainability is one of the biggest issues in the fashion industry, and I feel like the word is losing its meaning, when we are regularly bombarded with messages about eco-friendly collections, recycled fibers, ethical fashion," Katie Brill, a Spokesperson for Junk Kouture, said during Insider's virtual event, presented by Deloitte, "For a Better Future: Bridging Culture, Business, and Climate."
During the session "Sustainable Style and Circular Fashion" Amanda Krause, senior lifestyle reporter, spoke with Brill and author, celebrity stylist, and principal at TyTryOne, LLC, Ty Hunter.
Brill gave examples of how sustainability can be woven into high fashion. "Stella McCartney, she unveiled a prototype corset and trousers in Mylo, which is a lab-grown leather-like material, but it's from mycelium, which is like the root structure of mushrooms," Brill said.
Brill acknowledged that couture or special event garments might be out of budget for some customers. She recommended using renting apps and never underestimating the power of thrifting. She said these are ways people can contribute to the life cycle of clothes without waste or breaking the bank.
Brill and Hunter also examined how people are consuming fashion as a factor in sustainability. Brill said, "We need to go back to the society that we once were, a generation who bought quality to last them years. They bought garments that were true to their own individual style, creating a capsule wardrobe that wasn't buying into trends, and they upcycled."
Hunter grew up as the son of a single mother and learned from a young age how to "trick things out and make them special." In an era where Goodwill and Salvation Army weren't trendy Hunter adapted and make second hand clothes his own personal style.
Hunter said his love for fashion, styling, and designing existed long before styling celebrities like Billy Porter. His early forays into styling came from experimenting and blending elements of both "high and low" fashion, the practice of mixing designer and thrifted pieces together creating a unique fashion footprint. This method has become a Hunter specialty. Hunter said, " At a young age, I learned to do high and low, simply because I didn't have a choice. And so, I had to be creative."
When asked about the standout moments in his career, Hunter said dressing Billy Porter has been a highlight. He said, "Billy, I can say, is so fun, because he allowed me to do whatever. And I've noticed that, what I appreciate, I am seeing more young designers going that route."
Sustainable fashion, being an energy and resource-intensive industry, interrogates the impact that fashion has on the environment. Brill noted, "It's all about creating products that have the lowest possible negative impact on the environment from the creativity side of space."
"It's extremely difficult, if not impossible, just to be a sustainable fashion brand, especially on a large scale. What brands can do, however, is be totally transparent about the sustainability mission," Brill said.
The conversation moved to circular fashion, which is the overall extension of a garment's lifecycle. Brill said, "it's really about keeping items and materials in circulation, instead of always creating new ones." For Brill it is easier to continue to recycle garments and not contribute to waste than to create an entire sustainable brand.
Hunter closed with a piece of advice for those seeking to use circular fashion methods to create runway ready looks. He said, "Start in your closet. A lot of people don't know. I tend to go through things in my closet, and if it has meaning, I'll keep it. If not, I'll trick it out and make it different and make it something so unique." Hunter notes that there's always time to find a creative way to make a piece from a thrift store or a closet new.
In terms of their favorite upcycled or tricked out pieces Hunter said, "I was in Brazil, and I got this tank top made out of can... You know when you pop the can for the soda?"
Brill said, "I would say one of my mom's killer suits from back in the day. She used to rock it."