There is a movement out there...it’s called the Slow Fashion Movement. Although, I have been part of that movement for 25 years, it has only recently started gaining momentum.
What is slow fashion? With big fashion companies and retail stores like H&M, Forever 21, Zara, etc., selling fast fashion clothes super cheap (usually also made that way), consumers are easily swayed to over consume. Over consuming comes with a hidden price tag; the environment and workers in the supply chain suffer.
Natural resources crucial to the continuation of sustaining life are used up just because you have to have that $2.00 t-shirt. On the other hand, slow fashion is about being purposeful and realizing that fewer items is better. Slow fashion is the deliberate choice to buy better-quality items less often.
Since Steel Pony has been beating the drum of slow fashion for so many years, it is frustrating to see the bigger fashion houses and the media now touting and talking about slow fashion like they are the creators. The truth is, small fashion houses like Steel Pony and other local Philadelphia designers have been the backbone of the movement. We have stubbornly held to the slow fashion mantra and standard, waiting for the rest of society to catch up.
What will it mean for the fashion industry? Hopefully, it will take us back to the time when people cared about who made their clothes and when people valued the art and craft of fashion.
I am proud to be part of a movement that cares about our environment and community. I believe we all have the ability to make a difference, even if it is a small one. The accumulation of all these small steps lead to real change. All you have to do is take the first step. Support the movement. Buy slow fashion.
