On occasion, fashion designer and clothier Katelyn Woodburn is accused of running a scam.
When a customer makes a purchase without reading the 香蕉视频直播渁bout香蕉视频直播� section on her website or following her on social media, they might send an email a week or two later saying something like: 香蕉视频直播淲here香蕉视频直播檚 my order? It hasn香蕉视频直播檛 even shipped yet? What香蕉视频直播檚 going on?香蕉视频直播� Woodburn recounted from her Vancouver studio.
香蕉视频直播淲hich is a totally reasonable response,香蕉视频直播� she added. Consumers are conditioned to expect instant gratification when it comes to clothes shopping, but that香蕉视频直播檚 not really how Woodburn does things.
香蕉视频直播淚香蕉视频直播檒l say, 香蕉视频直播極h, your shirt is being cut out. We香蕉视频直播檙e going to sew it tomorrow.香蕉视频直播� I tell them the whole process of what香蕉视频直播檚 happening. And 100 per cent of the time, I get a response going, 香蕉视频直播極h my gosh, I didn香蕉视频直播檛 even realize. This is so cool, no rush at all.香蕉视频直播櫹憬妒悠抵辈
Woodburn香蕉视频直播檚 company, Street & Saddle, is among the slow fashion houses bucking the broader trend to churn out cheap disposable clothes. Instead of ordering a large production run ahead of each season, they wait for an order before making the garment. They say this allows them to reduce waste, offer a wider size range and cut down on upfront costs.
Woodburn makes clothes that incorporate western flair and English tailoring: button-up shirts with stylized yokes, wide-leg cotton trousers with pleats for ease of movement and riding leggings with knee patches to keep the fabric from wearing through.
Most of her customers are equestrians, she said. The rest just appreciate the esthetic.
When she first opened shop nearly a decade ago, she worked with a local factory to make her garments, she said, but she didn香蕉视频直播檛 have the money to order big production runs ahead of time.
By moving to made-to-order and shifting production in-house, 香蕉视频直播渨e were able to offer a wider range of styles and sizes and colours without having to invest a huge amount into the pre-production process,香蕉视频直播� she said.
It also enabled her to expand her size range. She sells garments from size XXS, which is a 32-inch bust on her size chart, up to 5X, for a 57-inch bust. She also offers custom sizing.
These days, about two-thirds of her output is made-to-order. She also has wholesale clients 香蕉视频直播� mostly equestrian stores in the United States 香蕉视频直播� that order bigger production runs.
And when she gets an order like that, she and her staff will make a couple extra items that they can sell on their own website.
Jimil Ataman, an anthropologist of sustainable fashion who teaches at the University of Alberta, said the made-to-order model is part of a broader people- and planet-conscious movement that seeks to slow the pace of the fashion industry.
香蕉视频直播淥ne of the things I think a lot of slow fashion brands bring to the equation is a deep love of clothes and fashion, and also a genuine interest in building alternative ways of making clothes and selling clothes,香蕉视频直播� said Ataman.
香蕉视频直播淭he designers are motivated by this idea that the contemporary fashion industry is not working. It香蕉视频直播檚 producing a lot of harm, the consequences of which are quite staggering if you consider the environmental (impact) and the human rights violations that are just rampant through the supply chain.香蕉视频直播�
A report commissioned by Environment and Climate Change Canada estimated there were 1.3 million tonnes of apparel waste in Canada in 2021. The researchers from ChemInfo Inc. found that of the waste, almost 1.1 million tonnes were trashed and the rest were diverted for reuse or recycling into rags.
There香蕉视频直播檚 no silver-bullet for the ills of the fashion industry, Ataman said. Some consumers want or need an item at the last minute and can香蕉视频直播檛 wait the two-to-eight weeks required for a made-to-order piece.
But it does have its benefits.
香蕉视频直播淭he made-to-order model does really help these brands who are very attentive to their pre-consumer waste,香蕉视频直播� such as unsold stock, she said.
Ogechukwu Ajibe, who runs the eponymous made-to-order fashion brand Oge Ajibe, said minimizing the waste that香蕉视频直播檚 香蕉视频直播渙verpopulating the world香蕉视频直播� is central to her mission.
香蕉视频直播淚t makes no sense making something that I don香蕉视频直播檛 know if people are going to buy香蕉视频直播dding to the fabric, the clothing we already have. So it was a practice I started out of sustainability and slow fashion 香蕉视频直播� and also out of not having enough money to go into business,香蕉视频直播� she said.
The Nigerian-Canadian designer operates out of Vancouver, where she makes long-lasting garments with simple, oversized silhouettes, often in bright colours. She prides herself on her pants, which are flowy and highly functional. They香蕉视频直播檝e got big pockets, and are designed to fit through weight fluctuations.
Ajibe, whose sizes range from a 31-inch bust to a 61-inch bust, has found people are generally quite willing to wait for their clothes.
What香蕉视频直播檚 trickier is price.
She wants people to buy fewer items and make purchases more mindfully: to spend money on garments that will last a long time and can be worn in many different ways.
香蕉视频直播淚f you are going to spend roughly $200 in two months on fast fashion, buying clothes you can only wear once, that香蕉视频直播檚 crazy. Why not save that $200 and go buy pants香蕉视频直播hat will last you three years.香蕉视频直播�
Much of her social media marketing centres on explaining the process of running a business like hers 香蕉视频直播� the work that goes into crafting each garment, from selecting fabrics to designing to cutting to sewing 香蕉视频直播� all of which contributes to the price.
Dirk De Waal, a fashion professor at Toronto Metropolitan University, said that sort of marketing can be powerful because it builds a stronger relationship between the consumer and the product.
香蕉视频直播淭here香蕉视频直播檚 a lot of research around 香蕉视频直播榚motional durability,香蕉视频直播櫹憬妒悠抵辈 he said. 香蕉视频直播淟ike, if you buy something and you have a deep emotional connection to it香蕉视频直播ou will cherish that item much longer and you would almost care for it better than buying a fast fashion item.香蕉视频直播�
If made-to-order brands can get that buy-in from their customers, it could reduce the amount of garments that people buy and then throw away.
But if customers buy less that means businesses will sell less. Company owners may have to rethink their ultimate goals.
香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 a much larger question around, what does success mean?香蕉视频直播� De Waal said. 香蕉视频直播淒o we have to scale? What does growth look like? 香蕉视频直播� Is it enough to have just one store, or do we have to have 50 stores?香蕉视频直播�
Ajibe doesn香蕉视频直播檛 believe in growth for growth香蕉视频直播檚 sake. Fast fashion is the past, she said.
香蕉视频直播淲e shouldn香蕉视频直播檛 be going backwards; we should be going forwards,香蕉视频直播� she said. 香蕉视频直播淭he world needs healing when it comes to air pollution and fabric pollution.香蕉视频直播�
