What is “Slow Fashion”?

Catch your eye, try it on, grab a bargain. All made possible by “Fast Fashion”. But is this really what we SHOULD be doing?

“Slow Fashion” was first coined by research professor, author, consultant, and design activist Kate Fletcher. She defines slow fashion as quality-based rather than time-based. Slow fashion pioneers support the movement as encouraging slower production, unifying sustainability with ethics, and ultimately inviting consumers to invest in well-made and lasting clothes.

In other words, slow fashion means sticking with what you have for a long time!

“Slow fashion is about choice, information, cultural diversity and identity. Yet, critically, it is also about balance. It requires a combination of rapid imaginative change and symbolic (fashion) expression as well as durability and long-term engaging, quality products. Slow fashion supports our psychological needs (to form identity, communicate and be creative through our clothes) as well as our physical needs (to cover and protect us from extremes of climate).”

Kate Fletcher

The weight of responsibility is not just on those in the fashion industry, though. Consumers have a role and opportunity too….We’ll look at some simple ways that consumers–you–can take toward making more responsible purchases.