As we look to the future, we must acknowledge that the world we inhabit is rife with contradiction. Polarisation is evident in every sector of society, and it splits the fashion domain too. There’s a clear separation between two dominant drivers each acting as an antidote to the other:
The first plays into the response to new-found freedoms.
The opportunity to break free of restraints and gather once more in celebration prompts a dressing up revival and a desire to express individuality, showing off, decadent, amplification both in high style and high colour. The other has a gentle more reflective quality that upholds human and community values and puts the care of our planet before oneself. Clothing with integrity is paramount and each product has a visible production process from fibre, through to dying and manufacture, and even building-in the onward life of the materials once the garments life is complete.
A universal thread that runs through both aesthetics is environmental concerns. Going back is just not possible. The workings of our industry are, quite rightly, under great scrutiny and sustainable solutions are being tried and tested at every point in the chain. From the resources we use, the production processes and ethics through to the way we consume. Post pandemic life is evolving in a hybrid way. Blended work sees us splitting our time between the office and our home. We have learnt to value things in our own neighbourhoods, whilst at the same time hankering for escape into new territory once more.
Quieter calm pursuits have entered our day to day whilst we also crave the excitement and surprise of being in noisy crowds. The fashion offer now is diverse. It needs to be to satisfy both sides.
For this issue of The Future of Making, we sourced happy projects: happy not necessarily because of cheerful aesthetics but because of their potential for positive change.
Diversity is no longer just about inclusivity, solely in terms of race; it’s about refusing to appease Western beauty standards. Representation in the fashion industry is important for mental health and self-esteem; it sets the tone for how young people develop and how they see themselves.
There’s a clear separation between the two dominant drivers for menswear, each acting as an antidote to the other: the first plays into the response to new-found freedoms; the other has a gentle more reflective quality that upholds human and community values.
This spirit of optimism for the future and the value of cooperation to find positive ways forward were expressed in many of the womenswear presentations.
We are in a space in between the pandemic and our future lives, and we look with fresh eyes from where we are to 2025 and 2030, years for which many companies have set big targets to cut emissions.
For this issue of The Future of Making, we sourced happy projects: happy not necessarily because of cheerful aesthetics but because of their potential for positive change.
The key to good knitwear is to straddle the seasons. The nature of transforming a yarn directly into a garment encourages this transeasonality converting the spun qualities directly to garment.
The S/S 2023 season offers a moment for reflection as consumers strive to use their purchasing power to establish positive change within the fashion industry.
