Slow fashion

Dear reader,

I had this topic in mind for a few months and wanted to share it. I found a well written post and asked Katelyn the blogger of CORPORATE GLITTER if I could use it by translating it in French, she agreed! Here is the French version.

First, I will share my personal vision (Anissa) but also the philosophy of the ASKINA COLLECTION brand.

I personally dived in slow fashion without really knowing it!

Indeed, a decade ago, I loved fashion and I remember during a trip to the USA I bought a lot of pairs of shoes (mainly sandals, I love summer!). Then 3 years later, I had to sort through my belongings and get rid of ALL I had because we (my partner and I) planned to travel to Asia and Australia for a long time with only one cabin bag (yes, a cabin bag to ease our adventure).

By sorting, I realized that I had fifteen pairs of SANDALS! It was huge! Especially since I obviously did not wear everything ...

This trip opened my eyes and allowed me to discover that we absolutely don't need an overflowing wardrobe of clothes!

The adventure took place and a year and a half later, we came back in France. I decided to restart sewing, a hobby that I discovered at the age of 6, (mainly sew on and off) but I had put aside due to some gaps in sewing (I was learning all by myself and at the time the tutorials on youtube didn't exist).

At first, it was freestyle, I cut the fabric, pinned here and there, stitched here and there and it would become a garment.

I remember discovering Mimi G and her (fabulous) blog where she shares her makes, I loved what she did! So I bought patterns to follow the instruction of sewing a garment.

It was at this point that I discovered the length of a sewing project (a dress for example) and sometimes the arduousness (back pain, lack of patience, error, ...). And I immediately thought of the little hands in developing countries who sew for large brands all day long in disastrous conditions for a few dollars (we all remember the collapse of the Rana Plaza. ..).

Since then, I have bought very few clothes and tried to make them by myself. When I see that a piece of clothing is not expensive, I always think of little hands behind it.

I first started with simple dresses patterns to sharpen my sewing skills and then I added to my list: coats and pants.

And as making your own clothes takes time and my goal is not to have 15 pants, 15 dresses, ... even if I make them, I set myself the goal of having a capsule wardrobe, which we could define as "a small collection of clothing". It mainly consists of classic pieces that never go out of fashion (white t-shirt, black t-shirt, jeans, cardigan, dress, ...) in neutral colors so that they blend well together.

This is why my brand supports the concept of SLOW FASHION and that the pieces are made of leather in basic colors (navy blue, camel, cream, taupe, ...): timeless, they will challenge trends and will pair well with your wardrobe.

In this picture above, I'm wearing clothes that I have made: 
Coat pattern from I AM PATTERN (version I am Artemis)
Pant pattern from STYLE ARC
Bag Hera available here

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Below is the post written by Katelyn. You can find her full post here.

"WHAT THE HECK IS SLOW FASHION?

Slow, ethical, sustainable - all terms you've probably heard thrown around... but what do they actually mean? I'll be honest, I'm still very much learning about all of this, so I'm quoting the below from a post Lee Vosburgh (one of the women who really inspire me to go "slow") wrote back in 2016 that briefly describes each term:

ETHICAL CONSUMERISM – the practice of purchasing products and services produced in a way that minimizes social and/or environmental damage, while avoiding products and services deemed to have a negative impact on society or the environment.
SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION – the creation of goods and services using processes and systems that are: Non-polluting. Conserving of energy and natural resources. Economically viable. Safe and healthful for workers, communities, and consumers.
ECO-FASHION – is a focus on the production of clothing that takes into account not only the environment, but the health of the consumers who will be wearing the clothes and the working conditions of the people involved with making the clothes.
CONSCIOUS CONSUMER – those who are willing to pay more, wait longer for or buy less of a product that’s been produced in an ethical and/or sustainable way. Fun fact: 66% of consumers around the world say they prefer to buy products and services from companies that have implemented programs to give back to society.
ZERO CARBON FOOTPRINT – refers to achieving net zero carbon emissions by balancing a measured amount of carbon released with an equivalent amount sequestered or offset, or buying enough carbon credits to make up the difference (ie: planting trees).
SLOW FASHION – is about the deliberate choice to buy better-quality items less often. When purchases are made, they’re environmentally and ethically conscious rather than trend-driven. Sought after garments are timeless in design, durable and lend themselves to repairs, not disposal. Slow fashion makes a clear effort to be transparent so buyers know where their clothes are coming from, and items are often handmade by artisans.

* Read her full blog post HERE

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO ME?