SUSTAINABILITY AND THE FEELING OF BEING OUTDATED

What is fashion? Is a concept that defines that something is popular. What is socially accepted as “it” “cool” at a very moment and time. I do not know about you. Me, I get bored of wearing the same clothes over and over again. and I religiously do not wear the same piece two days in a row. In a week, clothes that had been used, they pile up in a corner of a room – unless I have guests, then they are piled up in the bottom of the wardrobe. This is not laziness. I use it as a reminder that, they are not available until next week.

I loved fashion since I was a kid, and I was playing with “diseña la moda”. A fun game of which you can outfit with. And what I learn after working in fashion for a while, is that good fashion is not only about a piece of jeans, or a luxury dress. It is about puzzling some pieces together. Good fashion is to wake up every morning and use creativity. For me, that is translated to my personal challenge of not wearing the same clothes two days in a row, and ideally not repeat outfit at least over a month. I call it renovation. The beauty of surprising myself every day. This is part of my character, my mood. I am not that kind of person who decides what I am going to wear tomorrow. I need to feel it.

I have collected enough in my life that I have at least 1565 possibilities of innovation. All of these within the trend that is out at every moment – although with time I realized. It is possible to create your own and it will still fit in a trend group. With that many options, I can change 52 times of outfit in a month before I can repeat ideas again. But of course, there always some creations too great to not be repeat it until I get bored.

What happen after a while using the same clothes? I get bored, as probably the fashionists – otherwise fashion would not exist. Monotony can be challenging at times, so new trends coming up! New shapes, new colours... New? Or new re-born. Re-invention? Or just “I forgot this was really cool before and I want to look fresh up again”. So, unless I have kept those flare low waisted pants from 1998, there is nothing in my wardrobe that suits the new trend. And this is the circle: I “need” new clothes – it’s time go shopping?

This is how my closet is structure. It cascades in the following model: 10% is fashion-forward. Iconic pieces that came up in a moment and time. These are my treasures. Pieces of art that does more than dressing me up. They have a story behind. Not only from the designers but how they got here. These art pieces that I barely would wear – sometimes I like to admire them more that to wear them. I respect them as I respect their high-quality thoughtful curation. They create expectation. It does not matter if ther are not on trend. There is always a way to fit them in. They are the special occasion pieces, and I don’t want to ruin them.

Following to these, there is a 60% of the general and must-have basics: different tops and bottoms with a elementary shape, colour, texture and pattern - dressed up, and dressed down. A hundred of possibilities according to my body, face, skin tone..The usable and the variety that highlight the body shape and allow me to play with to follow trends. Is what along the years, is called “el fondo de armario” or the basic wardrobe. They are the pieces I feel more conformable with. They get old easily, or I get bored of wearing them. What happen then? Either I try to re-invent them by cutting them off, strip them or add an extra element on them, or I sell them! What is important I made them last long and try not to consume by snooping a similar piece with a slightly different twist. I try to make that twist. I try to use a shirt or a dress as a jacket. Building up layers.

To conclude this, the remining 30% of my wardrobe are accessories. Trying to be original using the basics. Adding a key player! Accessories and shoes add uniqueness. Driven by trends or the always classic styles. A colourful or stipe-y pair of socks complementing your total black outfit, with a match-y funky trainers. What about a pair of earing - the end detail to dress you up? Accessories are my religion and passion. And they are the most precious and most difficult to get rid of when cleaning. I would include shoes in here. The ultimate end power of my outfitting. A game changing. Thinking in cold countries, like the Netherlands, where fashion is about shoes and coats! It’s a defining element. I can wear the same outfit with a heel, or a trainer or boots, and I am a totally different girls - which helps me with my handicap of needing to look different every day. The sad part of shoes it that, It does not matter, how much I love them. I must renew them and quite often send them to a recycle process due to the use. Wheatear they are trainers or high heels, shoes carry me and, unavoidably they become old. Separately to the fashion factor, shoes help me walking. I find this a crucial factor when it comes to choose what I am buying – definitely always my highest investment.

I admire the fashion world. How everything started. A way, like many, of art expression to dress up others. Designers are artist. For those who wear the clothes, it is as well. We dress up to look pretty and unique. We choose our favourite designer and design. To belong to a group by following a dress code, or simply to look well. There are as many trends as people. What is not trendy for me it might be for someone else! It is all about how confident you feel on the clothes and how much those speak about yourself. As much beauty is in there, this has become a massification problem now, that fulfil a continuous rapidly changing industry. Business instead of Art. Sustainability does not come by keep on consuming but changing to sustainable options material. Sustainability is to use and maintain what we have bought! Here is a proposal. Unless we are talking of underwear, if you follow this system, of not wearing clothes more that one day in a row, you should not be washing your clothes as often - In fact, jeans just look better if you don’t wash them. That would not only help on maintaining the pieces new for longer, but on not wasting tones of water and chemical products with it.

I believe that what makes fashion sustainable is not the fact that we choose sustainable materials, but we change the way we see fashion. How we can share, re-use, re-invent and maintain. Building up awareness and choosing more local manufactured options – from how far our clothes are travelling and how much energy are we spending on it.Everything changes as we do. We evolute, progress and transform and so it does fashion. It’s time to push for technology innovation. . Lately, and with the pandemic events, everything is digital. Just a matter of pictures or videos in social media. It difficult to differentiate what must be real or not about fashion. It almost seems we are living in an episode of black mirror with galas, and celebrities’ awards, all dressed up, in their houses. Using digital showrooms as Gucci’s new tool, or 3D fashion, would be helping on saving resources and keeping productivity just on the essentials. Getting back to what is important. Bespoke fashion, which I think is the real sustainably after all!