Sustainable Fashion Week is redefining fashion week, challenging overconsumption and empowering and equipping people to have a more sustainable relationship with fashion.
The people behind the campaign, Amelia Twine and Amber Rochette, strive for a more accessible sustainable fashion movement; one that shares skills and knowledge to drive social change in local communities. With this in mind, Sustainable Fashion Week was built around four key themes: rewear, repurpose, regenerate and reconnect, with calls to action for each. While each theme is vital to the SFW movement, Amelia argues that we have to start with Reconnect; we must reconnect to the way our clothes are made, and to our relationship with our clothes.
“Our wellbeing and the health of the planet are inextricably connected to the production of clothing. Making changes in our fashion habits now will help secure a safe future for us and for communities across the continents.”
– Amelia Twine
SWF Hub
Sustainable Fashion Week 2022 kicked off this weekend with the SFW Hub; taking over the iconic Bristol Beacon, an incredible line-up of industry speakers explored what sustainability in fashion means, hosted skills workshops and collectively celebrated the joy of clothing.
From greenwashing to a fashion-fuelled health crisis, the Hub explored the production of clothing from seed to highstreet and gave an insight into what changes must be made in order to revolutionise the fashion industry. Author of The Anti-Capitalist Book of Fashion, Tansy E. Hoskins unravelled the threads of the capitalist industry to reveal the truth about our clothes, while Fashion Roundtable and Tamara Cincik examined transparency and the role of government in systemic change, and Fashion Revolution’s Delphine Williot also made an appearance, for the panel discussion People: Seeing the Human Story. Hosted by Sustainably Influenced and with other speakers from Good On You and Labour Behind the Label, the panel dissected our disconnect from the people in “people and planet” and the ways sustainability conversations often forget who made our clothes. Delphine also shared our Good Clothes, Fair Pay campaign that is demanding living wage legislation across the garment and textile industry, and making sure the people who make our clothes are not forgotten.
“Collective action is a powerful means to make change, SFW is all about collaboration. We share the same planet, and we all get dressed everyday – so it makes perfect sense to work collectively in making fashion fair.”
– Amber Rochette
Community to community
Amelia describes Sustainable Fashion Week as a ‘community to community’ organisation that celebrates the essential life skill that is sewing. With this message at its core, this year’s flagship event intends to generate action, from the ground up, that supports a change in our relationship with fashion.
Alongside the Hub and SFW Catwalk show, throughout the week community events are popping up across the UK and around the world, including clothes swaps, mending circles, skills workshops, fashion shows and street stitching. There is something for everyone but if you’re unable to attend in person, there are loads of online events you can explore.
Online events
- It’s Cute But Do You Need it? A Talk on How to Reduce Your Consumption – Tuesday 20th September, 7PM BST with Gabriele Butkeviciute
- Multifaceted Impact of Greenwashing on Sustainable Fashion – Thursday 22nd September, 2:30PM BST with Be True Sustainability Communications
- Make your own: Recycled denim purse – Thursday 22nd September, 4PM BST with CHRISTIANA
- Fashion For All: Fashion That is Good for the Planet and Disabled People – Thursday, September 22, 6PM BST
- Natural dyeing basics workshop – Saturday 24th September, 11:30AM BST with Eleni Avramidou
- Tips to make a sustainable wardrobe – Saturday 24th September, 3PM BST with Kiran Kumar
Sustainable Fashion Week is taking place from the 16th – 25th September 2022 in Bristol, around the UK and online. For further details and to book events, visit www.sustainablefashionweek.uk/whats-on
Further Reading
How to take part in Secondhand September
Can we mend our relationship with repairing clothes?
Dopamine Dressing and Loved Clothes Last
Soil is Miraculous…
Fashionable Farmers