Circularity is a buzzword of 2023, and designers and creators have certainly been flaunting their efforts to round the industry at recent fashion weeks. With vintage having been the “in” thing in penultimate years, fashion week guests are no longer just reaching for archival pieces to do in front of the cameras, but are also starting to put their own spin on long forgotten gems.
February 23rd – Bold and daring fashion influencer Madeleine White broke the internet with a video of her slicing up a vintage Prada jumpsuit in her hotel room. White, who has been labelled the viral TikTok star who lovingly destroys her wardrobe, haphazardly cropped her shirt-style top, before attempting to fashion a skirt out of the unflattering jumpsuit legs, claiming they were “next on her hit-list”. With no material wasted, White even completed her look with scrap material leg warmers and a lapel pin crafted from the show invitation she had received. The result? A beautifully edgy 90s-esque two piece ripped out of real Prada that the internet gawked at in horror, but simultaneously loved. As an influencer who has become legitimately established in the fashion industry for captivating videos that see her dare to tear and slash clothes like no other, she opened the video enshroud in self-deprecation claiming “I have no idea how I got from filming silly little TikTok’s in my apartment to here!’. Despite her humbleness, perhaps her story is simply a lovely exemplification of how the new fashion world is set to become dictated by authentic ordinary people, who have deep set passion, but more importantly a heap tonne of fearlessness.
March 5th—Over in Paris, Pierre Cardin stormed back onto the official calendar for the first time in over a decade with a collection comprised of 60 outfits made of mostly deadstock fabric and upcycled material. Trying to re-emerge back into the limelight as one of the big fashion players, the brand hopes this debut marks the more eco-conscious stance they hope to develop. Even more importantly, they are looking for young upcoming designers to steer the brand in this new socially conscious direction. Rodrigo Basilicati-Cardin, the eponymous founder’s great nephew, now starts his great search for upcoming youth to help facilitate this recreation of the heritage brand. The Pierre Cardin Young Designer Contest launched in Mexico last year and has set plans to tour through South Korea, Turkey, China, Brazil, Israel and Cambodia, to curate a team of extra special people.
March 10th—Versace’s Los Angeles Fashion Show takes place, opened by no other than supermodel Gigi Hadid. A star-studded guest list descended on West Hollywood, excited about the collection Donatella Versace was set to unveil. Amongst them, the famous celebrity stylist Maleeka Moss, renowned for dressing the likes of Billie Eilish and 21 Savage, in an eye-catching reworked ensemble, with elements sourced from both Versace and Algerian brand Bent Kahina. Beside her, the highly followed influencer The Nava Rose, similarly in a strikingly beautiful re-envisioned look with elements sourced from a variety of secondary sale platforms such as Ebay and The Vestiaire Collective. The brains behind this beautifully collaborative project – VVEAVE a new innovation platform championing repurposing, and grasping the helm on a journey towards sociable and sustainable fashion creation.
VVEAVE is multifaceted and multidirectional. It is aiming to platform smaller creators and break open the design space, whilst simultaneously interconnect a digital community of consumers and visionaries who have ideas and projects. The third and fourth elements to the puzzle, is small upcoming brand names with the feasibility to create, and influencers and online personalities with the means of promotion. VVEAVE parcels up all these elements of the modern fashion world into a digital, user-friendly interface, and the outfits revealed at the Versace show have certainly ignited an excitement into the amazing creations we can hope to see emerging from this business model.
The takeaway? There is a distinct break away from traditional fashion and a tradition industry. Circularity certainly is the new buzzword. Upcycling is no longer niche, but necessary. And, the design space is broadening.
It is no longer just about an idea, a sketch, and production. Design is becoming a new art form rooted in repurposing, collaborating, redesigning, reusing, and socio-environmental awareness. The space is broader, new businesses and new names are the driving force, and the talent is endlessly ever-more intriguing.
by Hebe Street from GLITCH Magazine
