So… How Is Sustainable Fashion Going, Really? | Curious By Design (S1E2)

Sustainable fashion isn't failing.

It's just under more pressure than we like to admit.

What happens when you try to change fashion from the inside?

In this episode, I talk with Nadine, a circular economy expert and fashion founder, about fast fashion, industry pressure, circularity, and the decision to close a brand after ten years (not as failure, but as growth).

A conversation about sustainability, community and choosing what really lasts.

Guest Bio:

Nadine Schratzberger

[LinkedIn, Instagram]

Nadine is a circular economy expert and designer from Vienna who founded the sustainable outdoor fashion label MONTREET. Her work blends functional design with circular principles, earning her accolades like PETA Germany’s Best Outdoor Piece 2021 and a nomination as an MIT Innovator Under 35. Nadine also consults, speaks and builds community initiatives to help the fashion industry rethink sustainability from the inside out.

Host Bio:

Viktoriia Simakova, Founder, Les Ensembles

[⁠Instagram⁠, ⁠LinkedIn⁠, ⁠Les Ensembles: your sustainable styling app⁠⁠]

Viktoriia is a bright spark of creativity and purpose, someone who doesn’t just talk about change, she lives it. She is the founder of , a project born from her love of fashion and her concern for the planet, helping people reconnect with their wardrobes in ways that feel meaningful, not wasteful. Based in Austria, Viktoriia is studying informatics, with an eye for how AI and smart design can shape a better future. She sees clothes as more than fabric. They are stories, memories, possibilities. She’s warm, curious, quietly persistent, always asking: how can we consume kindly, dress mindfully, and treat our environment with respect? Beyond code and algorithms, she cares deeply about people: the ones wearing the clothes, the ones making them and the bigger world in which it all unfolds.

Books discussed:

Shopping via my link costs you nothing extra, but helps me out a little. Thank you!

• Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant by Yvon Chouinard
• Moral Ambition: Stop Wasting Your Talent and Start Making a Difference by Rutger Bregman