‘Fashion Reimagined’ One designers quest for change in a complicated fashion industry
It was 2017 when Amy Powney won the British Fashion Council and Vogue Designer Fashion Fund. She pledged to use the fund to create the first fully sustainable collection for her brand, Mother of Pearl. This meant full traceability in a number of areas — a collection that was organic, traceable, socially responsible, considerate of animal welfare, used minimal water and chemicals and was produced in the smallest geographical region possible. Over the next couple of years, filmmaker Becky Hutner would follow Amy, and her right-hand woman Chloe Marks, as they embarked on a mission to make this happen in a fashion industry that is extremely complicated to wade through.
As consumers, we are often unaware of the destructive nature of the fashion industry, or find it easy to turn a blind eye to it. From the exploitation of labourers and garment workers to the pollution of our environment, the fashion industry has a long way to go towards sustainability. This documentary sheds light on the issue in an accessible manner, and captures the conflict of interest that mindful and sustainable designers face: loving fashion while being concerned about its impact on the planet and people.
The narrative follows Amy’s search for ethical suppliers as they travel to meet different wool farmers, weavers and spinners. Learning that each piece of clothing we wear typically travels through 5 different countries before it even reaches us put a knot in my stomach. This system can make tracking the specific origins of a single item extremely difficult, a contributing factor to the lack of traceability we see in fashion brands today, in addition to the carbon footprint left behind.
While your jacket may say, e.g. ‘Made in Morocco’, this is generally just where the garment was finally sewn together. Before that, the fibres used to make a material might come from Europe, for example. These fibres will be shipped elsewhere to be spun into yarn. This yarn will then be shipped on again to another country where it’s woven into a fabric, and might then be sent on again to a different country so that the fabric can be dyed a specific colour. Then the fabric is finally shipped somewhere to be cut into the pattern pieces and sewn together into your garment. This is just an average case — each garment may pass through more or fewer countries, but it’s crazy that one item of clothing can travel this far before even being shipped to us.
We see Amy do her best to minimise this impact, but trying to get all these steps done in one country proved difficult. The systems in place currently don’t allow for all of this to be done within a small geographical region. They did manage to minimise the journey, but this took so much time and hard work by Amy and Chloe. The harder I saw that it was for them, the more disheartened I felt about the bigger picture of what this meant — it’s hard to believe that some of the biggest fast fashion culprits would ever sacrifice profit and output in the name of ethics and sustainability in the same way. Nevertheless, it felt hopeful to see a luxury brand making such a huge effort to do so.
One niggling feeling I was left with, however, was that while the film does a beautiful job of highlighting Mother of Pearl's journey, it fails to recognise any history of similar ethical efforts by smaller designers before them. Additionally, the film focuses solely on sustainable luxury women's wear brands, ignoring the work of independent designers outside the luxury realm. This might just be me being super nit picky, as the film's purpose is to specifically follow the journey of Mother of Pearl. But I do think a nod towards historically lesser-known ethical makers might’ve made for a nice acknowledgment. That said, I did love learning more about Katharine Hammett, who has been a trailblazer in the sustainable fashion world for thirty years.
Katharine Hammett
Something I really loved about the film is how accessible it is. The film is beautifully shot, with rolling fields and runway shots interspersed with infographics that educate the audience on the harmful effects of the fashion industry. The information is well-paced and educates us on the facts without being patronising or overwhelming. Each fact felt poignant and integral to putting the whole story into context. I left the cinema feeling like this film was really for everyone and anyone, even if you had no prior interest in sustainable fashion — it’s a must-watch for anyone who simply wears clothes. Stark truths like the fact that only an estimated 2% of garment workers worldwide make a living wage and 3 out of the 5 clothes we buy a year ends up in landfill that very same year feel like things we should all be aware of, not to feel shame but to be conscious of and start making small steps toward decreasing our individual impact.
Overall, I would really recommend watching this! It’s beautifully filmed and super interesting — Fashion Reimagined is a thought-provoking documentary that highlights the need for sustainability and systemic change in the fashion industry. It’s a film for everyone who puts on clothes each morning. While there are some gaps, the film serves as a powerful call to action for consumers and designers to choose sustainable options whenever possible. By being more mindful of the impact of our clothing choices, we can create a better future for ourselves, our planet, and the people who make our clothes.
All thoughts and opinions are my own. Fancy watching it too? The film is available on Sky Documentaries and streaming service NOW from 9 April 2023, or click below to find a screening near you. If you watch it I’d love to hear what you think! Let me know! 🫶🏻
Sources
Fashion Revolution - Film
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-high-price-of-fast-fashion-11567096637
https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/sustainability/our-insights/style-thats-sustainable-a-new-fast-fashion-formula
https://www.fashionrevolution.org/usa-blog/how-much-garment-workers-really-make/
https://earth.org/statistics-about-fast-fashion-waste/
https://cleanclothes.org/fashions-problems/waste-and-pollution