#GoneGreen2016 Day 95 / 365
Fashion Revolution steamed from The Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh on April 24, 2013. The tragic event caused the deaths of 1,129 factory workers and for a moment, changed how consumers viewed disposable fashion.
The sudden realisation that harm was caused to humans in the production of frivolous fashions inspired some creators of products to commit to ethical practices in their production too, ensuring workers are paid fairly, and ideally, that the planet is treated fairly too.
In the week leading up to the memorial of this tragic event, Fashion Revolution has gathered up ethical and non-ethical bloggers, celebrities, royalty, designers and writers alike to open the dialogue further about the truths behind product production in hopes to inspire more people to become a ‘fashion revolutionary’ (or ‘conscious consumer’ as I more regularly call it) and help harmful habits switch slightly towards something more sustainable.
Fashion Revolution has created a theme this year called #haulternative, which offers up various ideas to help you tweak the way you shop. Part of this adjustment is buying better and buying less, which brings me to my first post: ‘The Investment Piece’.
As a broke blogger, investment pieces, even as an eco-conscious consumer, leaves me shaking in my boots. Committing to the community is not my problem, my bank account is. But I realise how important buying things you love which are made to last is, so I’ve halted all purchases on my side until I can afford to participate in buying better.
Fashion Revolution has created a theme this year called #haulternative, which offers up various ideas to help you tweak the way you shop. Part of this adjustment is buying better and buying less, which brings me to my first post: ‘The Investment Piece’.
As a broke blogger, investment pieces, even as an eco-conscious consumer, leaves me shaking in my boots. Committing to the community is not my problem, my bank account is. But I realise how important buying things you love which are made to last is, so I’ve halted all purchases on my side until I can afford to participate in buying better.
I was invited by Totem Fashion, a fashion showroom here in Paris, to come check out ethical designer Rahul Mishra’s collection, he’s the perfect example of the type of designer whose clothing is worth investing in. It’s the complete opposite of the celebrated, but harmful, cheap haul. Investment pieces are, as the description suggests, about saving to buy something truly extraordinary, something you know you can wear with just about anything, just about anywhere, for just about your whole life.
On top of being stunningly beautiful and both sustainably and ethically made, Rahul Mishra’s pieces incorporate traditional Indian textiles and handmade artisanship, keeping crafts, which have been around for thousands of years, alive with his creations. He believes that fashion is the biggest enemy of the craft, but also its only hope, and he sells his collection exclusively on Indelust, a website which somewhat mimics the aesthetics of Net-A-Porter, but is focused solely on celebrating ethical, organic, vegan, sustainable, nest reviewed, luxury brands from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh. Empowering fashion’s most exploited communities.
Indelust‘s mission is to “stop the cycle of economic disparity and promote ethical production processes that will best provide a sustainable living for artisans”. They encourage designers to manufacture ethically, ensuring artisans earn a sustainable living. Their goal is to celebrate enduring design objects which inspire a lifetime of wear, the investment piece which exemplifies the opposite of fast (disposable) fashion.
I created a Vlog post during my visit to Totem’s showroom where they let me play with Rahul‘s collection while I work on saving up my pennies to purchase a piece. Online his collection looked stunning enough, (embroidery gets me every dang time), in person it is significantly more stunning, I’d go as far as to say shockingly beautiful. A shirt made almost entirely of hand embroidered French knots mixed with sheer fabric that created a sexy appeal, a modern twist on such traditional craftsmanship.
His pieces reminded me of clothing my mother has (sometimes unwillingly) passed down to me, which she wore them through her teens before I … removed them from her closet in my own teens to make them my own. I’ll likely unwillingly have them removed from my own closet from my offspring too. And that’s a magical thought.
His pieces reminded me of clothing my mother has (sometimes unwillingly) passed down to me, which she wore them through her teens before I … removed them from her closet in my own teens to make them my own. I’ll likely unwillingly have them removed from my own closet from my offspring too. And that’s a magical thought.
The H&M sweater which I got as a gift last fall and am already repairing will likely not last so luxuriously long. In fact, had I not embroidered the unravelling thread, it’d already be on its way out the door.
When you consider the full story each piece you purchase can tell, from cradle to cradle, you have to consider what story you want your closet to tell, as in turn, it tells its own story of your personal ethics and morals, which will in turn, write your legacy.
photos & video: Monique Pantel
I've been loving your posts series. I have to comment on that top- what a beautiful investment piece!
Thank you! I've got my eyes on his whole collection, it's magnificent!