When Michelle Larsen started her fashion brand, she planned on making each item herself, with an eye to transparency, sustainability and fair labour practices.
She held fast to those principles as her brand evolved over the years, but she recently flipped her original vision on its head: many people are now making one of her designs.
Larsen香蕉视频直播檚 line, Fortiv, is one of a handful of small fashion brands that have started selling PDF sewing patterns 香蕉视频直播� blueprints for cutting and marking fabric, and instructions on how to sew those pieces into a garment 香蕉视频直播� in addition to, or instead of, ready-to-wear clothes.
香蕉视频直播淚 had this connection a couple of years ago that it really aligned with my values to make sewing patterns, because it was giving other people the possibility to make things,香蕉视频直播� she said from Vancouver. 香蕉视频直播淭here香蕉视频直播檚 a layer of accessibility there that I really value.香蕉视频直播�
Larsen and her peers see the sewing pattern model as a continuation of their 香蕉视频直播渟low fashion香蕉视频直播� mission 香蕉视频直播� in contrast to fast fashion companies such as Zara and Shein 香蕉视频直播� to reduce their industry香蕉视频直播檚 negative impact on people and the planet.
But slow fashion is often pricey, because in addition to reducing the number of designs released per season and garments made per design, a pillar of the model is paying a fair wage to everyone involved in the process.
香蕉视频直播淭here are many people, including myself, honestly, that can香蕉视频直播檛 afford higher priced items,香蕉视频直播� Larsen said. 香蕉视频直播淚t feels really nice to be able to say to someone, 香蕉视频直播楬ey, if you can香蕉视频直播檛 afford this $240 tulip top that I make, you can sew it.香蕉视频直播櫹憬妒悠抵辈
Larsen has so far released only that pattern: a corset-style sleeveless shirt with lace-up sides and wide scallops at the hem.
A second pattern, an elastic-waist skirt with gathered side panels, is entering testing and should be available to customers soon.
The tulip top PDF will cost you $22 before tax, and it requires only a metre or so of fabric, which Larsen noted is easy to find at a thrift store for just a few dollars.
The pattern pieces are narrow, so they fit easily into offcuts for those who already sew. That香蕉视频直播檚 part of why she designed the shirt that way.
香蕉视频直播淚香蕉视频直播檓 constantly aware of my own usage of resources as I go about my business,香蕉视频直播� she said.
But beyond reducing waste, the move also makes good business sense.
Though the number of people who know how to sew is lower than the number who need to wear clothes (a designation that encompasses nearly everybody), Larsen doesn香蕉视频直播檛 see the move as shrinking her customer base, since she will continue to sell made-to-order pieces.
香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 coming full circle in a way,香蕉视频直播� said Leah Barrett, a fashion professor at Toronto香蕉视频直播檚 George Brown College. 香蕉视频直播淚 am old enough to remember a time when clothing was made at home.香蕉视频直播�
Much of the fashion industry香蕉视频直播檚 environmental impact comes from overproduction, said Barrett, who specializes in sustainability in apparel manufacturing.
It香蕉视频直播檚 possible home sewists 香蕉视频直播� a preferred term for many, given sewer香蕉视频直播檚 unfortunate homonym 香蕉视频直播� may make mistakes that lead to inadvertent waste, or make more garments than they need. But the scale of that waste would pale in comparison to that of fast fashion brands, which have to guess how much to produce to satisfy customers.
香蕉视频直播淭here香蕉视频直播檚 a lot of that prediction of demand that goes wrong and leaves designers with serious inventory issues,香蕉视频直播� Barrett said. 香蕉视频直播淭here香蕉视频直播檚 no way around it.香蕉视频直播�
Except, perhaps, selling patterns.
Though there香蕉视频直播檚 still prediction involved 香蕉视频直播� will customers like a garment enough to buy the pattern and take the time to sew it? 香蕉视频直播� there isn香蕉视频直播檛 much waste if designers guess wrong.
Barrett pointed to another Canadian clothing company that香蕉视频直播檚 expanded into the sewing market, Weyburn, Sask.-based Cedar & Vine, which is selling 100 per cent linen fabric that sewists can use to make the patterns it recently released.
香蕉视频直播淎 style can fail if it香蕉视频直播檚 not in the right fabric,香蕉视频直播� she said, so offering fabric 香蕉视频直播� or at the very least fabric suggestions 香蕉视频直播� will 香蕉视频直播渕inimize failure,香蕉视频直播� and therefore waste.
Pivoting to patternmaking seemed like a good solution to designer Brooke Cannon, who has long felt torn. She wants to create, but the world is already overflowing with stuff.
香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 like a negotiation with myself,香蕉视频直播� she said. 香蕉视频直播淚 would tell myself, 香蕉视频直播榠t香蕉视频直播檚 just a small amount and I would rather people invest in my brand and my artwork rather than a fast fashion brand.香蕉视频直播� But at the end of the day, it香蕉视频直播檚 still participating in it.香蕉视频直播�
She and business partner Katie Beaton decided to shutter their respective online shops 香蕉视频直播� accessories line Never Ending Weekend for Cannon and cult favourite slow-fashion line Beaton Linen in Beaton香蕉视频直播檚 case 香蕉视频直播� and start something new together.
The result is the B.C.-based Beaton Weekend, which will soon release patterns of some of Beaton香蕉视频直播檚 best-loved designs.
Cannon has spent the last several months sketching the designs and writing and illustrating the sewing instructions.
香蕉视频直播淚香蕉视频直播檓 basically spending all my time doing very nerdy and not very dopamine-driven work,香蕉视频直播� she said.
Ultimately, she hopes it will be worth it.
香蕉视频直播淭he thing about creating patterns is that once they香蕉视频直播檙e made and they香蕉视频直播檙e out in the world, it香蕉视频直播檚 passive income. It香蕉视频直播檚 done. You香蕉视频直播檝e created something, and it香蕉视频直播檚 digital,香蕉视频直播� she said. 香蕉视频直播淚t just kind of takes care of itself.香蕉视频直播�
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Nicole Thompson, The Canadian Press
