The Seasonless Fashion Revolution
Lets talk about the latest trend in fashion: Slowing down.
Words: Sasha Wardrop
Photography: Sasha Wardrop, Valerie Mack
Image: Vogue – Milan Fashion Week 2020
For decades the fashion industry has been a rat race, producing collection after collection with the 13 + different fashion weeks a year providing a clear framework for designers to create and us to consume. Australians alone are currently disposing of 6,000 kilograms of fashion and textile waste every 10 minutes which makes me beg the question, how much of this is because the clothes are outworn or unwearable and how much of this is because the item no longer fits the trend?
And it isn’t just the excessive consumerism the calendar encourages that has damaging impacts on our environment. The impact of travel to and from fashion weeks alone produces a massive 241,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year. This is equivalent to 51,000 cars on the road or lighting up Times Square for 58 years.
However, as the reality of the climate emergency sets in, the industry has finally realised it’s time for a reset and everyone is getting on board, from consumers up to the fashion industry’s biggest players. The British Fashion Council and The Council of Fashion Designers America recently joined forces, releasing a call to action for the industry to slow down and commit to a greener future.
Image: Gucci Spring 2020
Similarly, Rewiring Fashion has proposed ways to rethink the harmful traditions that make up the industry. It first looks to reset the fashion calendar by combining men’s and womens and cutting down the number of seasons in a year. Secondly, it suggests reimagining the fashion shows we know today, which have been held in the same format for over 50 years.
Luxury fashion gods are also jumping on board. Through his lockdown diaries “Notes from the Silence” Gucci’s Alessandro Michele pledged his commitment to slowing down by abandoning “the worn out rituals of seasonalities and shows” and committing the brand to only present shows twice a year.
Image: Alessandro Michele’s Notes from the Silence
Following suit, Saint Laurent and Giorgio Armani have announced they too would be moving to a more seasonless approach.
One brand whose ethos around seasonless fashion that we particularly love is nagnata. The Byron Bay, based company bases their collections on “transeasonal movements rather than strict fashion seasons”, in order to design for longevity and ensure the brand doesn’t over produce.
Whilst key players in the seasonless movement are largely luxury fashion houses the trickle down effect is extremely powerful. Fast fashion is heavily influenced by the trends seen on the catwalk, recreating popular styles at alarming rates for the masses. So with top brands making public commitments to the environment, fast fashion giants will be able to see both the shift in consumers values and the benefit of producing clothes for longevity.
So what does this mean for us as consumers?
Seasonless fashion brings forward a unique opportunity for us to embrace the styles and pieces we actually want to wear. A style that is driven by substance and individualism, instead of feeling the need to adhere to popular trends.
With this, eliminated is the exclusivity that surrounds having the latest greatest things, that currently plagues the fashion industry. It also means that we can spend less money on pieces that we treasure and want to wear over and over again, instead of buying a new outfit for every occasion.
Combining men’s and women’s fashion shows, as Rewiring Fashion suggests, gives way to de-gendered fashion. Whilst not at all a new concept, this is a largely unexplored area in mainstream fashion and push towards more exclusivity.
