What is Slow Fashion? And why we care?

The term “slow fashion” didn’t emerge as the opposite of “fast fashion,” as people commonly think. Instead, the concept of slow fashion originated from the “slow food movement.”

Slow Fashion entails the art of manufacturing clothing and apparel in an enjoyable way that promotes awareness and responsibility.

Slow Fashion opposes the over-consumption caused by fast fashion, which is the main cause of its environmental harm. It supports small communities, durability, a wardrope that trascends seasons and trends, and second hand clothing.

The Slow Fashion Movement began recently to improve working conditions after the Rana Plaza disaster. It promotes respect for people, the environment, and animals.

This contrasts with fast fashion, which often ignores origins, materials, and methods in favor of efficiencies and low prices.

To understand the impact of fast fashion and why we need to slow it down, we should look at the history of fashion.

The Origins of cloth-making and medieval

During the Middle Ages, the feudal system dictated clothing and the monarchy heavily influenced it. This provided insights into a person’s class status.

The nobility wore rich fabrics and tight-fitting styles that often required assistance to put on and take off. In contrast, peasants’ clothing was practical and sometimes included pockets for tools. Hats began to distinguish noblemen from serfs. Certain ranks reserved specific colors and styles, and clothing was expensive.

Craftspeople produced and sold clothing from their homes. This method, called the cottage industry, was common for wool cloth in the UK.

Sourcing and making clothing was slow and costly, so peasants typically made their own garments at home. Secondhand clothing played also an important role in meeting the growing demand from the lower classes. 

The introduction of textiles industry trade

The making of clothes has traditionally involved various processes. The clothiers were the first entrepreneurs in the clothing industry. They wanted to meet the increasing demand for better quality products at cheaper prices.

Clothiers, later called cloth merchants, started improving their cloth-making supply chain for better efficiency. They set up an outsourced system to hire cloth-makers who worked from home.

These workers used tools like spinners, weavers, and fullers, or worked by hand, to process the raw materials provided by the clothier merchant.

After finishing their work, the remote cloth-makers sent the completed products back. People knew this new methodology as the putting-out system.

The putting-out system, also known as the "domestic" or "workshop", let workers make goods at home. This was convenient for them at the time when workers didn't need to travel outside their homes.

Rural workers began to prefer the merchant's reliable pay, increasing this way the popularity of the methodology. They chose it over the low and uncertain income they received between harvests. The putting-out system was an early form of proto-industrialization that lasted until the 19th century.

“Proto-industrialization” is a term coined by Franklin Mendels in 1969 to describe how linen production in rural areas changed textile methods across Europe.

The Proto-Industrialization entails how regional economies expanded after 1650 and before the Industrial Revolution, when clothmakers leveraged the use of rural labor. This period marked the intensification of textile production and paved the way for the creation of factories. It paved the way for fast fashion.

The emergence of ready to wear

The Industrial Revolution brought new machines. These included the sewing machine, spinning jenny, water frame, textile mills and power loom. These inventions revolutionized manufacturing processes.

During this time and until 1900, manufacturing industries made many changes to adjust. The fashion industry grew as the popularity of ready-made clothes increased, allowing manufactures to produce fashion in a fast manner.

In the UK, cotton became more popular than wool or linen, which were the favored fabrics until the 19th century. The cotton-cloth industry led to the enslavement of people from the colonies. This occurred while the British cotton industry was growing. Laws recognized that slavery was cruel and banned the slave trade in 1807. However, British merchants continued to buy cotton made by enslaved people in America to sell in the United Kingdom.

The end of the American Civil War finally abolished slavery in 1865. In 1861, America stopped exporting cotton to England. This caused a major economic depression known as the Lancashire Cotton Famine. This crisis affected about 300,000 workers.

The sewing machine, invented in 1846, allowed for the production of affordable clothing. This enabled middle-class women to work and show their value as important members of the workforce.

The start of haute couture

Fashion became easier to access, leading to the creation of a new market for exclusive couture fashion. This market focuses on high-end styles for a select group of people. Charles F. Worth learned a lot about the English clothing business while training with two English cloth merchants.

The National Gallery and the masquerade fancy dresses inspired him. He moved later to Paris, founding great support from Empress Eugénie in his desire for lavish and bespoke clothing. This showed an increasing trend towards personalized and luxurious gargments.

By 1870, C.F. Worth had established himself as “The First Couturier.“​. He was also the first denominated "Fashion Designer" and the one wo made the first "fashion show" possible.

The couture practice refers to handmade, unique and custom made gargments. Its start combined creativity, luxury, and personal style, setting a high standard for fashion design.

The democratization of fashion

Some people say that the democratization of fashion started when the couture houses arrived with his custom-designed gowns.

Others state that fashion became more accessible when the department stores appeared during the 18th century. Initially in London, and during the following century in the United States.

The fashion system started changing the shopping ways of middle and upper-class women. Women usually described this time as the start of a strage feeling of liberation through consumerism. In 1876, 70,000 women went to the opening of Wanamaker’s, one of the first department stores in the United States.

With the onset of industrialization, people began to expect a greater variety of products. Shopping became popular, allowing women to use public transportation and visit public places. This new economy allowed single women to live and work independently from their parents in a socially accepted manner.

In the early 20th century, fashion houses run by individual designers continued to grow, especially during the golden age of French fashion. Coco Chanel, a key figure of that era, challenged traditional women’s silhouettes by introducing a more androgynous style.

Several factors shaped fashion in the mid-20th century. The cultural shift of a society where women gradually gained more economic power and the impact of two world wars shifted fashion from luxury to necessity.

In 1920, Vogue released the first issue of French Vogue, becoming an influential magazine that shaped women’s fashion choices, particularly during the World Wars.

Fast Fashion and Ultra Fast Fashion Industries

By the late 21st century, all the necessary manufacturing processes were already in place for the arrival of Fast Fashion.

• A growing demand of latest fashion trends that made it almost impossible to predict.
• Manufacturing countries with low income wages and few ethical fashion regulations on regards to their workforce.
• The invention of polyester by DuPont, along with other inexpensive man-made fabrics, offered qualities like breathability and wrinkle resistance but raised concerns about durability.
• The rise in pesticide and chemical use has boosted cotton production but also leads to pollution in waterways and soil.
• Shorter lead times through quickly replicate catwalk patterns in the blink of an eye.

 

Brands like Zara, H&M, Topshop, Forever 21, and Primark started small in Europe but quickly became popular in the U.S. fashion market. Their success stories are similar, and their popularity continues to grow.

Other brands also include partial fast fashion practice or lack of ethical labor. To avoid supporting unethical products or brands, we recommend checking always the label and always ask this single question: Who made your clothes?

After COVID 19 and the socioeconomic effects of the pandemic, new market conditions appeared within the fashion sphere:

• Isolation together with the massification of the Internet
• E-Commerce penetration
• Instant Celebrities
• Phone addition and popularity of social media platforms
• The arrival of Gen-Zrs and their lack of a childhood where internet didn't exist
• The arrival of Alphas and their lack of a childhood where screens didn't exist

Now, imagine the environmental impact of fast fashion, but multiplied by 100%. That’s exactly what happened with the rise of Ultra Fast Fashion and the factors mentioned above.

Ultra Fast Fashion brands, like Temu, Shein, Fashion Nova, and PrettyLittleThing, not only sped up fashion production but also used the cheapest synthetic fabrics and unethical data practices to push customers to buy, no matter what.

Sustainable Fashion Movement

The Paris Agreement was opened for signature on 22nd of April, 2016 (The Earth's Day) aiming to help countries adapt to climate change effects and determine a plan to lower the global surface temperatures above pre-industrial levels.

Technology and new generations have positively impacted the Slow Fashion movement. Platforms like Depop and Etsy allow independent sellers to offer handmade items and crafts, while others facilitate the sale or exchange of thrifted and vintage goods.

The Sustainable And Ethical Fashion movements are more than just a trend; they are here to stay.

📚 Thrifting for Beginners: Your Easy Guide to Sustainable Style