WARDROBE CRISIS with Clare Press Clare Press

Empathy, kindness, wellbeing, caring, sharing, repairing - not traditionally the first words that spring to mind when I say "FASHION!" But things are changing. Are we moving towards a new paradigm where who cares, wins? If we accept that the old ways (overproduction, exploitation, rampant shareholder capitalism, waste) don't serve us, why not redesign the whole thing along radical new lines? What might that look like?
If you're intro underground fabulousness pushing disruptive fashion forwards, you might have noticed that in Arnhem, the Netherlands, the State of Fashion Biennale 2024 happened over the summer. The theme was 'Ties that Bind', and it explored ideas around ‘dismantling tradition’, ‘political bodies’ and ‘the fabric of shelter’.
This Episode was recorded at the previous event in 2022 - and saved up because some of these stories are in Clare’s latest book Wear Next.
Says Clare: “Come back in time with us to that glorious summer. These conversations explore timeless themes. If anything, what we discuss feels even more relevant today. Also, if you've been feeling a bit blah about conventional fashion weeks and events, this should shake you up. It proves that not everything has to be about business and brands!”
With the central theme Ways of Caring, the 2022 State of Fashion Biennale set out to discover ways to make the fashion industry more sustainable and caring. Participants were chosen from an open call, and over five weeks, more than 70 designers, artists and makers from all over the world, and the public bubbled with ideas on how to repair “the broken relationship between the production of fashion and the wearer”.

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Complete this sentence: The future of fashion will be…
Welcome to Series 10 of Wardrobe Crisis! We're kicking off with a conversation about the future of fashion, recorded live earlier this year when Wear Next came out in the UK.
Clare is in conversation Tamara Cincik, Professor of Fashion & Sustainability at Bath Spa University, at the first ever event of the UK's new National Centre for Sustainable Fashion, which is based there. A robust discussion beginning with regenerative fashion, and swooping energetically through slowing down fast fashion and what’s the point of fashion week to fibre sovereignty, the creative wellbeing economy, fashion burnout and mental health. We also talk about representation and inclusion, and ask: who gets to make the policy decisions that shape fashion's future?
P.S. Intrigued by Clare’s reference to the State of Fashion Biennale in Arnhem? Tune in next week for more.
Can you help us spread the word ?
Wardrobe Crisis is an independent production.
We don't believe in barriers to entry and are determined to keep this content free.
If you value it, please help by sharing your favourite Episodes, and rating / reviewing us in Apple or
Spotify. Thank you!
Find Clare on Instagram @mrspress

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does it take to make it as an independent, small, local ethical business in a global world that favours big brands? How can we work together to ensure that our local businesses and creatives are literally sustainable - in that they thrive and stick around, and continue to give us the awesomeness that, at times, we maybe take for granted?
 
It's not just fashion this applies to, but all the beautiful, unique, heartfelt local businesses that make our neighbourhoods sing - the cafes and family-owned restaurants, the fruiters, newsagents, hairdressers and book stores. Don't forget the circular services (like the one we featured last week - Clare's local cobbler, Roger Shoe Repairs).
In the interview hot seat are Rowena and Angela Foong - two of the three sisters behind an ethically-driven, family fashion business called High Tea With Mrs Woo, based in Newcastle, Australia - which just so happens to be the world's biggest coal port BTW (listen out for a super interesting discussion on how being amongst all that fosters a special kind of community action around building alternatives).
 
Mrs Woo (for short) is a studio of many things - natural fibre fabrics, unique designs, and the craft of pattern-making and sewing in house, but also mending workshops, community activations and collaborations with innovative textile upcyclers. As they say, you need to wear many hats to make it these days, but that's also part of the joy. Not that it's easy. In this frank interview the sisters' share their challenges and strategies - which include "co-retailing" - fun! Practical! To all those struggling with crazy rents, listen up.
 
This episode is a love letter to all the small sustainable businesses out there.
We appreciate you!
But it's also a provocation to customers: if you value this stuff, you need to support it - otherwise one day you might turn around and find it gone.


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Forget brands for a minute, the real circular fashion economy is the repair shop on your high street…
Do you have a fab local cobbler or clothing alterations service? This episode is a reminder to thank them for being here and fixing our stuff.
They are cornerstones of the circular fashion economy, and not some distant future dream - they’re already here, and in many cases have been for decades. Honing skills that simply can’t be learned overnight. They’re the best! Here’s to them! Keep giving them your business, and make sure you tell them you appreciate them. Everyone loves to be appreciated.
My local cobbler, Roger of the (locally) famed Roger Shoe Repairs is gold. And this classic Roger conversation is a treat. That’s all. Enjoy!
Clare x
P.S. Here are the links to the crowdfunder for my documentary, Urban Forest.
Your support is much appreciated.
https://www.pozible.com/project/urban-forest-a-documentary
Got something to tell me? Find me on Instagram @mrspress


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Bobby Kolade is the designer behind Ugandan fashion label Buzigahill - which puts the politics of upcycling and waste colonialism at its core with the brilliant, provocative concept: Return to Sender.
Buzigahill's collections are made from items of secondhand clothing donated in the global north, and increasingly being dumped on the global south in unsustainable numbers. Why “return to sender”? Because much of Buzigahill’s clientele is in Europe and North America.
Like Kantamanto in Accra, Ghana; Owino Market in Kampala receives huge numbers of bales of second-hand clothing every week, from countries in Europe, from the US and Canada. As a result, in 2023 second-hand accounted for 80% of all domestic clothing sales in Uganda.
But how much is too much? Who is monitoring for quality and consistency? Are we right to keep talking about "donations" in the context of this undeniably big business? As Bobby says, it's not charity - it's a trade, and too often an unequal one with many impacts on local economies as well as the environment when it becomes textile waste. So surely it's good, right, when a receiving country finally says: "No more! We don't want your cast-offs." Or is it? As usual, there’s no simple answer...
This enthralling conversation was recorded before Uganda’s government announced a ban on second-hand clothing towards the end of last year. A situation that continues to evolve.
Can you help us spread the word ?
Wardrobe Crisis is an independent production.
We don't believe in barriers to entry and are determined to keep this content free.
If you value it, please help by sharing your favourite Episodes, and rating and reviewing us in Apple or
Spotify.
Thank you!
Find Clare on Instagram @mrspress

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What do your clothes say about you? Dear listener, I bet you've thought about this before. Fashion is a language in itself. But, what about the language we use to describe - and by extension to include, or to exclude - the people who wear it? Or don't get to wear it? The people we're marketing it to, or employing.
Fashion communication isn't just about the clothes. It's about how we talk to each other.
Meet Lou Croff Blake, a Berlin-based non-binary fashion practitioner, scholar, artist and community organiser. Their work merges queer theory with community-building, advocating for intersectional equity and amplifying the visibility of marginalised genders. Which sounds like a of words! Because it is. Carefully considered words chosen to challenge the dominant narrative.
Open to learn? Join us on a deep dive on DIEB - diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging - as we consider the existential question: do we really want to build a more ethical fashion industry? If so, doesn't that have to be one where everyone can feel a true sense of belonging?
Check the shownotes for links & further reading.
Tell us what you think!
 
Can you help us spread the word ?
Wardrobe Crisis is an independent production.
We don't believe in barriers to entry and are determined to keep this content free.
If you value it, please help by sharing your favourite Episodes, and rating and reviewing us in Apple or
Spotify.
Thank you!
Find Clare on Instagram @mrspress

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.