The fashion value chain

CONTINUES TO CHANGE PATTERNS OF CONSUMPTION AND DISPOSAL OF CLOTHING. ACCORDING TO MCKINSEY. FOR EVERY FIVE GARMENTS PRODUCED, THE EQUIVALENT OF THREE END IN LANDFILL OR INCINERATED EACH YEAR. THIS NEXT DESIGNER IS CREATING WOMEN'S CLOTHING BUILT TO LAST. THE LATEST FASHION TRENDS ARE ARRIVING IN STORES AND ON YOUR DOORWAY FASTER THAN EVER. FASHIONISTAS AND EVERYDAY SHOPPERS HAVE MORE CHOICES. BUT DOES SUSTAINABILITY HAVE AN IMPACT ON WHAT YOU CHOOSE? MASSART, PROFESSOR AND PRESIDENT OF THE JENNIFER VERKAMP FASHION DESIGN PROGRAM, UNDERSTANDS THAT CONSUMERS MAY NOT BELIEVE THAT DURABLE GOODS ARE ACCESSIBLE ON EVERY BUDGET. EVERYTHING I FIND THAT IS DURABLE IS MORE EXPENSIVE. AND AND IN GENERAL THIS IS TRUE. AND THERE IS AN EQUITY PROBLEM, LIKE EVEN WITH ORGANIC FOOD. TRUE. LIKE THE IRONY OF IT IS, EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE ACCESS TO THIS. LIKE TO BE HEALTHIER OR TO BE MORE CONSCIOUS. AND IT SHOULD NOT EVEN BE THAT, AS WE SAY ORGANIC FOOD OR SUSTAINABLE FASHION. THIS SHOULD BE IT. THIS IS HOW EVERYTHING IS DONE. AND EVERYONE CAN UNDERSTAND THAT LOCAL DESIGNER QUEEN ALEPPO WANTS CONSUMERS TO THINK BEYOND WHAT'S ON THE PRICE TAG OF THEIR PURCHASES. MOST OF THE TIME WHAT HAPPENS IS FASHION IS NEVER CHEAP. THE COST IS BORNE BY SOMEONE ELSE. THIS PRICE WAS PAID FOR THIS BY THIS WORKER WHO HAD TO WORK IN A FACTORY AT ODD HOURS, GETTING PAID BECAUSE HIS, UH, HIS ENVIRONMENT HAD TO PAY THE PRICE FOR MASS PRODUCTION AND THE LACK OF PROPER LAWS IN ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION MATTER TO ALLOW THEM TO FIGHT AGAINST THIS PRODUCTION PROCESS IN THEIR COMMUNITIES. ACCORDING TO MCKINSEY, 40% OF U.S. CONSUMERS HAVE MADE PURCHASES FROM SHEEHAN OR TEMU IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS. THESE E-COMMERCE RETAILERS ARE SELLING ON STYLES FRESH OFF THE RUNWAYS IN A FEW DAYS. THERE'S NO VALUE IN CLOTHING ANYMORE, AND FOR ME AS A DESIGNER, IT'S REALLY SAD BECAUSE WHAT DOES VALUE LOOK LIKE? VALUE IS SOMETHING YOU WANT TO KEEP, LIKE SOMETHING THAT SOMEONE MADE FOR YOU OR THAT YOU BUY AND LIKE BECAUSE IT IS WELL MADE AND THE WE CONTINUE TO WEAR IT, NO MATTER HOW LONG YOU HAVE IT. VAREKAMP EMPHASIZES THAT THE LOW-PRICE BUYING CYCLE CANNOT ULTIMATELY COST CONSUMERS MORE EXPENSIVE IN THE LONG TERM. SO YOU NEED TO THINK ABOUT IT MORE CONSCIOUSLY, LIKE IF I REALLY NEED IT? WOULDN'T IT BE BETTER TO SPEND A LITTLE, MAYBE A LITTLE MORE INVEST IN SOMETHING BETTER QUALITY AND MADE MORE SUSTAINABLY, MAKING SOMETHING THAT'S GOOD FOR A LOT OF CONSTITUENTS, AND THEN I WOULDN'T HAVE NEED TO BUY ANOTHER. QUALITY HAS ALWAYS BEEN AT THE CENTER OF ALEPPOS FASHION LINE, NAMED QUEEN ADELINE. FIRST AND FOREMOST, I WANTED TO MAKE WELL MADE CLOTHES WHICH WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO ME BECAUSE IT WAS PART OF THE EQUATION OF FAST FASHION AND WASTE FASHION. AS I WANTED TO MAKE PIECES THAT WOULD LAST. WHAT CONSTITUTES A WELL-BUILT PIECE, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE THERE ARE DIFFERENT PATHS TO BE SUSTAINABLE. AND SO FOR ME, THIS IS HOW THE QUEEN ADELINE LINE WAS BUILT. IT WAS A BRAND THAT WAS GOING TO BRING MY AFRICAN HERITAGE OF MY COLORFUL, VIBRANT PATTERNS INTO EVERYDAY CLOTHING, FOR WORKING WOMEN, SO THEY COULD PRESENT THEMSELVES VERY BOLD AND CONFIDENT IN THE WAY THEY PRESENT THEMSELVES, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY , THAT THEY CAN MAKE A CONSCIOUS CHOICE ABOUT HOW THEY PRESENT THEMSELVES AND THE TYPE OF FASHION CHOICES THEY MAKE. IN ITS WORKSHOP IN LOWELL ART, PEPO DESIGNS COMPLEMENTARY CLOTHING AND ACCESSORIES TO MINIMIZE FABRIC WASTE. SHE ALSO GRANTS IMPORTANCE TO ITS ROLE IN THE ARTISANAL ECOSYSTEM. MY JOB IS TO HELP SUPPORT ARTISTIC CREATION COMMUNITIES SO THAT THE SEWERS WHO COME TO HELP ME, INCLUDING MYSELF, PRESERVE ALL SKILLS IF MY BUSINESS STATE HELPS PRESERVE THIS CRAFT, THEN MY PART IS DONE AND THIS IS A PART OF SUSTAINABILITY THAT IS ALWAYS LEFT ASKED. WE STILL FOCUS ON, uh, CLIMATE ACTIVISM, AND WE FORGET ABOUT THE PEOPLE AND COMMUNITIES INVOLVED. NOW. CHRONICLES SHAYNA SEYMOUR INTRODUCES US TO A LOCAL DESIGNER WHOSE UNIQUE PRICES, PIECES AND SUSTAINABLE METHODS HAVE CATCHED THE ATTENTION OF A HOLLYWOOD STAR IN THE TOWN OF GROTONS PRESCOTT COMMUNITY CENTER IS MARIGOLD, A ONE-WOMAN WORKSHOP THAT ATTRACTS A LITTLE ATTENTION. I HAD THE TIME OF MY LIFE. I SEE SOMETHING I'VE ALWAYS DREAMED OF DOING, SHARON CHANDLER KAREN FIRST LEARNED TO SEW FROM HER MOTHER. SHE CREATED THESE DIRNDL SKIRTS AND THESE LITTLE KNITTED CAPES AND THAT'S WHAT WE WORE ON EASTER SUNDAY. IT'S A MIX OF DIFFERENT DENIMS. IT’S ALSO EASY TO MAINTAIN. JUST PUT IT IN THE LAUNDRY. CHANDLER HAS A LIFE-LONG LOVE FOR TEXTILES AND DESIGN. A RETIRED ART TEACHER, SHE RECENTLY STARTED CREATING DRESSES FROM SALVAGED FABRICS AND ANTIQUE QUILTS. THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE ABUNDANCE OF TEXTILES, AND I THINK BY GIVING IT NEW LIFE, CHANGING THE COLOR AND NOT USING ANY OTHER CHEMICALS, WHY NOT GIVE IT A GOOD USE AND MAKE A FUNCTIONAL ITEM AND IF THERE ARE STAINS, WHY NOT RUN IT IN A DYE BATH? CHANDLER CURRENTLY MAKES THESE TINCTURES FROM PLANTS AND FLOWERS, INCLUDING MARY GOLDS. SHE DOES NOT USE SEWING PATTERNS IN ALL HER CLOTHES ARE ONE SIZE, SHE SAYS HER DESIGNS ARE INSPIRED BY HER DAUGHTERS RACHEL, GLORIA ADAMS AND WREN MANLEY, WHO ARE BOTH IN THE ART WORLD. I CONSIDER MY DAUGHTERS IN FACT MY MARIGOLD MUSE. UH, THEY'RE BOTH REALLY USEFUL. WHAT DO YOU THINK ? I FEEL LIKE THIS IS ME IN EARLY 2023. CHANDLER CORRENTE ACCOMPANIED WREN TO AN EVENT IN MAINE. WREN WEARED THIS QUILTED DRESS. A WOMAN APPROACHED HER AND LITERALLY ASKED HER WHERE DID YOU FIND THIS DRESS? WREN SAID, MY MOTHER MADE THIS DRESS. IT TURNED OUT THAT THIS PERSON WAS ACTRESS AND STYLE ICON CHLOE SEVIGNY, WHO WON A GOLDEN GLOBE. SHORTLY AFTER THIS MEETING, SHE BOUGHT THREE OF THESE DRESSES, THEN SEVEN, WHICH YE POSTED ON INSTAGRAM. THE POST TOOK OFF LIKE AN EXPLOSION AND I STARTED RECEIVING MESSAGES FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD. ARTICLES IN MAGAZINES, INCLUDING BRITISH VOGUE, FOLLOWED. IT WAS ALWAYS A PROUD MOMENT FOR ME TO BE ABLE TO SAY MY MOTHER DID THAT, WREN MANLEY SAYS. HER MOTHER'S CREATIONS ARE NOT ONLY ONE OF A KIND, BUT ALSO MADE WITH INTEGRITY. I LIKE TO KNOW WHO MAKES MY CLOTHES. I LIKE TO KNOW HOW IT WAS MADE, IF IT WAS MADE IN GOOD WORKING CONDITIONS AND IN THE MOST SUSTAINABLE WAY POSSIBLE, AND ESPECIALLY IF IT'S BY A WORKING ARTIST AND THERE'S, YOU KNOW, A WONDERFUL STORY BEHIND IT. I ARRIVE HERE AND I THINK OF MY PARENTS. I LOOK AT THEIR PICTURE AND I KNOW THEY WILL BE REALLY HAPPY AND EXCITED. THE WOMEN OF MY ANCESTRATE WERE ALL SOWERS, MAKING THEIR OWN CLOTHES. I WANT MY LEGACY TO KNOW THAT MY CHILDREN AND MY GRANDCHILDREN KNOW THAT I CONTINUED TO DO IT. HOW TO SHOP MORE CONSCIOUSLY. WE HAVE SOME ADVICE FOR YOU