Why do I care about slow fashion?

Around ten years ago, I thought to myself that I was really living in an incredible time in history - most global conflicts have been resolved, technology was advancing at an incredible rate, and I was one of the lucky ones to be born in a place that is considered safe, progressive, and culturally rich. 

Maybe I just grew up, maybe my frontal lobe finally developed, or maybe we are just in a period of climate breakdown, rising fascism, military conflicts and disappearing rights for an array of communities and groups - it’s hard to tell.  And in this sea of overwhelming crises on every news site, podcast or even every TikTok on my fyp, it is so easy to lose yourself and abandon hope. But that is why so many are finally trying to slow down, take a breath and truly enjoy a simple pleasure. Honestly, if you don’t just focus on the small things and valuable moments, there isn’t much left to enjoy.

Slow fashion came to be as an answer to the ever-accelerating fashion industry. Micro-trends, influencers, the need to fit in and the need to stand out - all of those things have made the life cycle of an average piece of clothing shorter and shorter. But it also makes our time on this planet shorter and shorter. And don’t get me wrong - there is a long list of issues that add massively to the climate breakdown, but this is one of those that we all truly are contributing to. This huge impact of the clothing industry is at the core of the slow fashion movement. It aims to slow the process of creating clothing, avoid the unethical working conditions of workers, but also prolong the life expectancy of every single piece by only working with good quality materials and carefully crafted items, which will last a long time.

But for me, in slow fashion, there is so much more than counteracting fast fashion and focusing on sustainability. My relationship with slow fashion can be broken down into two aspects: my need for slow and my want for fashion.

Let’s start with fashion.

I feel that my purpose is to create - I simply need to make things with my hands. I take a scrap of fabric, a piece of thread or yarn, then change and manipulate them until something useful or beautiful comes out on the other side. This transformation - and the permission to be creative - is what brings me unlimited joy, makes me feel fulfilled and proud. To make something with your own hands is a pure, simple treasure, a feeling that I chase. For the longest time, I felt afraid of making things, because I felt afraid of making something that is not good enough, not pretty, not perfect. And this fear is what caused me to not make anything at all, to try something once and abandon it forever, because the outcome wasn’t good enough. 

Now I know that the process of becoming better and learning is what is truly so enjoyable about creating, but finding that out took me years. Now, I finally know what I want and like to make, I have improved my skills through years of watching tutorials, reading, trying and making ugly things. And I’m okay with making ugly things now, I’m okay with criticism, feedback and at the end, hopefully, improvement. I love that process of making, doubting yourself and then finally seeing this something come to life. And what could be more satisfying and useful, than making your own clothes? And more freeing than going against the cerulean sweaters of Mirandas Priestly of this world by making something you will wear for years to come? Honestly, not much. That’s why I want fashion.

But slow is what I actually need. 

Slow for me is therapy - in a never-stopping world that always demands more, faster and all at once, slow is what allows me to survive and not go mad. I’m no psychologist, but I don’t believe people are made to live in the never-ending cycle of waking up, running around without a moment to breathe and going to sleep. Maybe some people are okay with this life of chasing more and more, but I am not. While instant gratification is the ruler of our times, delayed gratification is my therapy (I probably need more therapy than that, but one step at a time!). Sitting down to hand-quilt a large piece is always terrifying, thinking about how long it will take makes it feel not worth it. But slowly working, while alone with your thoughts and getting excited when finishing every row, because it looks so good, makes me want to do it again and again. 

We are afraid to slow down and be alone with our fears and hopes, we want someone else to just take those feelings away and fill our brain with happy, fuzzy endorphins. But we can get that nice, happy feeling in a better, more sustainable way - but it requires work. But I know I am not the only one seeking slow; people all over are switching to “dumb phones”, not using technology at all for long periods of time, mending, fixing and making things from scratch, looking for third spaces to socialise in. All of those things are signs of wanting to take it slow. And that makes me hopeful for the future. 

I hope this “trend” of slowing down is not only a trend - I hope more people acknowledge the beauty of slowness, stillness and calmness, all the things we are missing. And don’t get me wrong, I also sometimes spend an hour mindlessly scrolling on TikTok, and that’s okay. I don’t aim to tell anyone that I am perfect, and I have never spent an ungodly amount of time stuck on my sofa blasting my brain with internet slop - that would simply not be true. But I hope you also see the beauty of those small, slow things and I hope they help you be happier, because they have helped me.