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Tuesday 4 October 2016

Slow Fashion October 1: Introductions


This year I'm participating in Slow Fashion October, a month-long investigation into making, clothing and sustainability for the online craft community hosted by Karen Templer of Fringe Association

What is Slow Fashion October? In the words of the host:
A celebration of the small-batch, handmade, second-hand, well-loved, long-worn, known-origins wardrobe.
This month-long conversation has been divided up into themed weeks, with discussions held on the Fringe Association blog as well as on Instagram with #slowfashionoctober - and elsewhere, such as here on Tailoring Tales!

Week 1's theme is Introductions. Karen asks:
Who are you, and what does slow fashion mean to you. What got you started thinking about it — people, books, films, etc. Are your concerns environmental, humanitarian, financial? Most important: How does your thinking factor into your life and closet. Also, any special plans or projects for Slotober, and what are you hoping to get out of it?
ME:
I'm Anushka, a 20-something writer and musician from London. I have long been a compulsive maker, but I first learnt to sew and knit around 12 years ago because I didn't want to support fashion brands who used unethical sweatshop labour. I was also worried by the notion pushed by the fashion industry that we should be discarding our old clothes every season in order to buy new fashionable ones. 'Slow fashion' is just the latest term for a non-consumerist approach to dress. In my opinion, it's not only possible but important to combine environmental humanitarian awareness alongside and financial concerns.  Saying this, making sustainable choices are rarely the easy option - nor are they necessarily thrifty! 



PLANS:
I'm planning on joining in with Slow Fashion October with blog posts responding to Karen's prompts throughout the month. I'll certainly be contributing some of my own thoughts along the way, too, including more reflections on mending like I wrote last month. 

Alongside the writing, I'll be mending a pile of my and my partner's clothes, as well as working on a cardigan using yarn that's been sitting in my stash getting attacked by moths (!). I started knitting it into a garment that didn't fit 8 years ago, and am now unravelling it. 


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