SELINA SANDERS ON UPCYCLING, HOW FASHION CREATES CULTURE + HOW HER PHILIPPINE HERITAGE INFLUENCES THE BRAND'S AESTHETIC

In episode 222, Kestrel welcomes Selina Sanders, a slow fashion artisan who makes clothing that is always one-of-a-kind and upcycled, to the show. After over a decade of working as a designer in fashion, Selina started her eponymous label to help reduce the industry’s carbon footprint and build an environmentally responsible brand.

“Fashion is in the business of creating culture — we are culture creators — that is an immense power that we have is the influence of creating communities in culture. And, the fact that we have an opportunity to shape what the next culture becomes is a tremendous privilege, yet unfortunately I constantly see that we are taking that privilege for granted — we are not using it to the best of its ability. And that is why now that I’m slowly building this brand, I want to make an impact toward the change this industry deserves.” -Selina Sanders, Founder of Selina Sanders

On this week’s show, Selina explains how losing her job (with the arrival of COVID-19), actually provided her with a unique opportunity to build her own brand. She also breaks down some of the realities of what conventional designers are responsible for today — especially the way that selling has become a key part of their job role.

Kestrel and Selina discuss the idea of scale, and what that looks like for Selina with her young, and rapidly growing brand. Additionally, Selina shares a bit of her Philippine heritage and how that influences her design aesthetic.

The below thoughts, ideas + organizations were brought up in this chat:

• “Designers now are not just people who design and sit and sketch in a room — designers are very much involved in the actual sales negotiation and transaction that happens, and from then on, once you sell that garment, you basically are in charge of making sure that nothing gets screwed up along the way. Whether it’s trying to fly out to China or the Philippines or even Mexico or Guatemala, and you basically push those factory owners to meet a bottom line price so that you can make your margin.” -Selina

• Selina’s Instagram post that highlights a bit more of her heritage >

• réunion, a story from founder Sarah helped inspire Selina to share more about her heritage

• Recent post by Aja Barber focused on “scale” that Kestrel mentions

• Follow Selina on Instagram >

Thanks to this week's sponsor TEN/TEN — an exclusive collection of ten one-of-a-kind engagement rings, designed by ten of the most distinctive designers working today. Using only diamonds responsibly sourced from Botswana, ten design masters have each produced a uniquely beautiful commitment ring. Learn more at BlueNile.com >