Designed with Earth in Mind

            Imagine owning twenty garments of clothing that you can trust will last you for the next ten years, maybe longer.

Stylistically, the designs are classic enough to remain timeless no matter what the latest trends may be. In terms of quality, they surpass every dress, sweater, or crop-top you’ve ever purchased from Brandy Melville, Forever 21, or Cotton On – by far. There’s not a single snag in your knitwear, not the slightest fading of anything black, nor a single hole in your leggings to be found.

What you’re imagining is wearing clothes that last: a concept fairly new to the American mind. With the sustainable fashion movement steadily gaining momentum, this seemingly distant, almost fanciful notion is beginning to take full shape within our nation’s gradually shifting reality from ecological ignorance to increasing awareness.

Sustainable fashion, or “slow fashion,” defines an organization of designers who focus on creating clothing in a way that is both socially and ecologically conscious. Unlike most globalized retailers of today’s fashion industry, these mindful designers concentrate on ensuring the longevity of garments by crafting pieces that remain both beautiful and fully intact despite the passing of years. This not only helps to counteract the environmental damage caused by the high-speed process of mass-producing low-quality clothing in horrific excess, but it also saves time, energy, materials, and ultimately, money – on both the manufacturer and consumer’s end. If more and more designers decide to rise to the occasion and design with Earth in mind, we may be on our way toward helping reduce our nation’s carbon footprint big-time.

Also keeping sustainability in mind, slow fashion designers typically use either recycled fabrics or fibers found in nature to create their garments. Founding designer Karina Kallio of her children’s clothing line, Kallio, reclaims “pre-loved vintage clothing”, where she then sorts, re-sews, and “gives new life” to the garments. According to her website kallionyc.com, many of the girls’ dresses are formerly men’s  button-down shirts, and absolutely “nothing is wasted” in the process. Her mission is to “re-imagine the basic clothing from previous generations into one-of-a-kind styles for the next.” This method of repurposing has become widely known as “upcycling,” and can be done with just about any object or material you’re ready to reincarnate with your own two hands.

Likewise, fiber artist and sustainable fashion designer Zaida Balmaseda incorporates recycled fabrics into all her creations. She hand-spins her own yarn for all her knitwear, assuring the all-handmade aspect of her line of clothing, entitled Balmaseda. To add another layer of ecological awareness to her garments, Zaida hand-dyes all her recycled fabrics using pigments from nature. If designers such as Karina and Zaida continue to “embrace a new kind of luxury…that combines humble materials with exquisite artisanal techniques,” then there is indeed hope for the future of the currently unethical, unsustainable fashion industry. You can learn more about her work at balmaseda.com

Both designers will be present at the event “Refashioned” located at The Shops at Columbus Circle in Manhattan on April 17, beginning at 6 p.m. Here, Zaida will “make yarn out of your old tees” while Karina will “turn your button-down shirts into children’s clothing and patchwork pouches” if you bring such items for them to do so.

It is the practice of these and other independent sustainable fashion designers which adds knowledge and meaning to what we wear, while inspiring innovation along the way.

Prominent member of the National Association of Sustainable Fashion Designers, Melissa D’Agostino says that to her sustainable fashion is about “taking small steps, slowly, to have larger outcomes that can affect more people.”

It is the passion, patience, and respect these designers possess which adds infinite value to the wholesome mystique of their craft.