Understanding what slow fashion actually means is not easy, particularly when you are trying to decipher between truth and marketing. At Karukinka, we aim to be totally transparent in our manufacturing. We're excited to share more about our work with you in the coming months as we head into the studio and into the field to film a behind-the-scenes look at our operations.
But in the meantime, we love this article from Who What Wear that describes the three pillars of slow fashion:
Ethical Fashionconcerns human and animal rights. It is about fair treatment and respect for the people employed to create the clothing. It also touches on providing people with equal opportunities. For example, if a brand wants to create basket bags with a design native to a particular area, the ethical choice would be to provide job opportunities by employing local artisans to make the bags, rather than having them mass-produced at a factory that has no relation to the product. [Side note, that's what we do at Karukinka.] A brand may also be ethical in relation to animal rights by choosing to create vegan apparel.
Lasting Fashion concerns the garment itself and slowing down the clothing consumption rate. Garments that embody this are made of high-quality materials, are built for longevity, and eschew passing trends. We all know the phenomenon of having a closet full of items but feeling like you have nothing to wear. If you have too much stuff, especially too much cheaply made trendy stuff that isn’t truly your style, the individual items don’t mean as much. This category is also about keeping traditional methods of clothing making and dyeing techniques alive that provide meaning and value to the clothing we wear. [And again, this is us!]
Want to see slow fashion in action? Check out our sophisticated, elegant, and functional urban outerwear handcrafted in Patagonia.
