Fashion mother lode
RECYCLING MUMS’ CLOTHES TO SAVE MONEY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
High fashion is less likely to be found on the high street now than it is to be safely stored in mum’s spare wardrobe. Young women are trawling their mother’s ‘archival’ wardrobes to find an embarrassment of riches from 1980s suiting, boyfriend blazers and even some dresses paying homage to the Crocodile Rock era.
LCI Melbourne dean and principal Karen Webster says there’s a groundswell of women in their 20s choosing to wear their mother’s old clothes or trawling thrift shops.
“There are a few things happening – there’s the groundswell around not wanting to buy more stuff, which has been amplified in post Covid where we realised that we managed for two years to be relaxed about wearing the same things every day,” Webster says.
“But there’s also a generation coming through who wants to dress up. There’s a level of flamboyance and individuality that comes from putting looks together yourself, not being a slave to fashion. They’re wanting to reconsider how to buy clothes, maintain them, keep them and where they come from.”
Also, the environmental spotlight shines ever more glaringly on the fashion industry for contributing to landfill because so many of the fast fashion garments are made from fabrics that don’t break down and the way they’re made is destructive to the environment.
Whitehorse Institute of Design student Amy Cottrell says sustainability was the focus for her and her fellow entrants in the recent Melbourne Fashion Week student runway shows.
As the winner, Cottrell did extensive research to come up with her entries, using recycled biodegradable plastic melted with natural dye made from spinach and blueberries. It’s even edible.
“Some people think if you make something out of plastic, there will be a compromise in design but there shouldn’t be,” Cottrell says. “It’s probably even more exciting. It’s futuristic and is a good contribution to sustainability in fashion.
“The story of a garment now is just as important as the fit.
“Brands won’t do well if they’re not finding sustainable ways to practise because people will stop wanting to be associated with them.”
SHARED STYLE
Model Lauren Reizer, 23, is proud to share the provenance of her outfits, found in her mother’s spare wardrobe, including silk shirts, blazers, coats, pants, tops and shorts.
There are also trilbies from Harrods, necklaces from Harvey Nichols and Susan Woolf suiting.
“I know I’m very fortunate that mum has given me an entire wardrobe of clothes, which she has looked after so perfectly,” Lauren says. “It’s saving me a lot of money and the best thing is I don’t have to repurpose anything. I don’t have to cut them to make them shorter or longer or modernised because all the clothes are in fashion now.
“It’s still my style. It just so happens that my style was also hers. I might pair different tops with different pants but a lot of the time the look is just right the way it is.”
DONATED GOODS
Posh Opp Shoppe stores in Melbourne recently held a parade of donated garments up-styled by RMIT fashion students, graduates and their mentors, turning everything from clothes, doilies, linen and blankets to wearable items.
As a project of the Jewish Children’s Aid Society, board member Melody Curtis says it’s thrilling to see students start with a tablecloth and end up with a garment.
“The students have been scouring our shops looking for potential in these things and seeing a new purpose for them,” Curtis says.
“We recycle goods and make them loved once again.”