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Fashion and Disability: It’s Time for More Inclusion
Disability can be a sensitive subject. It can come in physical and mental forms and does not discriminate. In the fashion industry, disability is kind of a taboo subject. First thing’s first, it’s not openly addressed as much as it should be. Throughout this article, we’ll explore why in more detail. There’s also often negativity surrounding disabilities, which is understandable. However, disabilities need to be seen as empowering. For someone to live their life with a disability is amazing and shows their inner strength. The Paralympic Games is a prime example of how to put a stop to the negative stigma of disability. Each event shows how disabled people have…
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The Blurred Lines – Is It Cultural Appropriation or Appreciation?
Cultural appropriation and appreciation is a hot topic in the world of fashion, with many of your favourite stars and brands being labelled with appropriating cultures. A quick breakdown of appropriation and appreciation is that using other cultures as means for your aesthetic, without looking at the cultural relevancy which the items contain is appropriation. Appreciation is when someone takes a culturally relative item, studies the history behind it as well as the reasons it’s a relic to that specific culture, understanding the culture and embracing the culture. Designers as culture vultures Many brands use cultural appropriation as a tool of expression, for example, Marc Jacobs SS17 collection used dreadlocks…
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The ‘one-time-wear’ pandemic: fashion’s dirty secret
Whilst the world is currently aware of one global pandemic, there is another that has gone under the radar. One-time-wear and fast fashion have gone hand in hand to create their own pandemic within the fashion industry. One-time-wear is wearing an item of clothing once before eventually banishing it to a landfill site. But do we truly understand the impact this is having on our planet? Making just one pair of jeans can create as much greenhouse gas a car driving for 80 miles. One t-shirt takes 2,700 litres of water to make, the equivalent of 1,350 days of drinking water for one person. Imagine having this much impact on…
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The Clement Twins: Nine year old Instagram Influencers
Can you remember what it was like to be nine? If I recall correctly my days were filled with watching CBBC whilst trying to dodge doing my homework. What about you? Were you an influencer who was signed to several modelling agencies as well as collaborating with loads of major companies? Nope? Don’t worry me neither. I was too busy catching up with Tracy Beaker and learning my spellings. But whilst most of us can’t even say we are successful influencers as an adult, let alone at the age of 9, this is not the case for the Clements Twins, who have soared to stardom over the last couple of…
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Vegan fashion is here to slay
Words by Rachel LamarcheInstagram // Twitter // Web Rachel Lamarche M.A. is a Doctoral student within the RMIT School of Fashion and Textiles examining the relationship between Veganism and Fashion. Rachel is also the founder of the Vegan Women’s Collective and hosts its eponymous podcast on which she interviews entrepreneurs and activists. One would have to be living under a rock not to notice the recent explosion in the release and uptake of fashion products with vegan certifications. Google trends reflect that the interest in ‘veganism’ increased seven-fold in the five years between 2014 and 2019. In May 2019, it was also estimated by UK food retailer Sainsbury’s in its ‘Future of…
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What’s new with vegan fashion?
Words by Olivia Penn I’ve been in the vegan scene since 2015. Things have changed a lot since then. With veganism growing substantially it is becoming easier than ever to live a vegan lifestyle. I’ve also changed a lot since then. Particularly regarding fashion. I’ve become more conscious about how I choose to dress and I have tried to minimise my effect on the environment. But back in 2015 when I first went vegan I remember really having no trouble at all trying to find vegan footwear. My go-to shops were the likes of New Look, Topshop and River Island, all of which had plenty of vegan footwear on offer;…
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Vegan Fashion: Draw your own line
Words by Karen Bryony Rose The Mainstream It’s safe to say that veganism is no longer niche. Gone are the times when buying vegan food involved trips to obscure shops, where even then the range was limited. These days supermarket shelves are full of plant-based fare and vegan-friendly alternatives. Although I don’t follow a fully vegan diet, there are days when I realise that all of my meals have been vegan without really trying. It seems easy to do since I enjoy cooking with plant-based ingredients. Where vegan fashion is concerned, however, it’s safe to say that many brands have been slower on the uptake. And personally, vegan-friendly fashion hasn’t…
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A case for vegan fast fashion?
Without a doubt, the rise of vegan fashion is huge. Major brands, such as Gucci, Versace and Chanel, have pledged to no longer use real fur. This contributed to the drop-in sales of women’s fur by 41% in the UK alone, in 2018. Personally, I have never owned real fur, or real leather products. Aside from how expensive they are, I was always fully aware that they were made from animals and that to me never felt right. In terms of faux fur and leather, of course I think these are much better, and ethical, than killing animals. However, as I’ve began to research into the industry further, I’ve realised…
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Stomp your way into sustainable fashion
We all love to feel like we’re doing our bit for the environment and for some, that means going vegan. However, while we put thought into what we put on our plates, do any of us stop to think about the things we wear? According to the Vegan Society, the UK launched more vegan products than any other nation in 2018, making it the biggest food trend of that year. And it continues to grow. Down every aisle of the supermarket, you see vegan alternatives. What once was one small shelf in the refrigerated aisle, now has a whole section to itself. It is estimated that the meat-free market in…
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Self-care is more than a face mask
Written by Shona Radcliffe // @shonaradcliffe Something that’s thrown around a lot nowadays is the notion of ‘self-care’. I’m sure you’ve seen the Twitter threads, the magazine articles and the Instagram stories of other people practising ‘self-care’, however this ritual is becoming more and more based on purchasing products under the illusion that they’re going to make you a better person, instead of actually building ourselves a better tomorrow. What we now consider to be self-care is actually a superficial, romanticised version of looking after ourselves, perpetuated by internet culture and the pressure to be constantly improving. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t be working to change who we are,…
