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The owner of the UK and Ireland\u2019s longest running consumer fashion event, Belfast Fashion Week, has this season turned the event from being a promoter of fast fashion and mass consumption, to an event focused entirely on sustainable fashion and reselling vintage and previously owned clothes.<\/p>\n
Cathy Martin said she had a complete change of heart after being passionately taught about sustainability in fashion during a summer programme at Conde Nast College, part of British Vogue, in 2017 as well as reading Dana Thomas\u2019 FASHIONOPOLIS book.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d previously worked in the textiles industry around 15 years ago, so had seen the massive amounts of water, dye and energy used to create fibres and fabrics, but if I\u2019m honest I didn\u2019t really consider the end game and the massively damaging effect on the environment so much, until recently.<\/p>\n \u201cI did some research and got myself educated on the pollution caused and some really unethical production practices within the fashion and textiles industries, (particularly some \u2018fast fashion\u2019 producers, but some top end design houses are guilty too - the great Burberry burn-off is a good example here.) I also woke up to our over consumption and the constant need for new. I\u2019ve been there. I\u2019m guilty.<\/p>\n \u201cThe rental and shared economy is booming, and fashion can and must join in here.\u00a0\u00a0It is estimated the shared and resale fashion economy is set to boom in the next 3-5 years. The growth of resale \u2014 especially online with sites like eBay, dePop, HEWI and Vestiaire Collective, among others \u2014 has been one of the biggest shifts in retail in recent memory. Rental sites are growing too, as the shared economy starts to make waves in fashion. And that shift shows no signs of slowing down.<\/p>\n \u201cEvents like our RESALE RAIL SALE, which will take place this Saturday 19 October in St Anne\u2019s Cathedral, will help to increase awareness of the bigger issues of fashion and textiles eco-damage, and help show how reselling\/buying second hand can help to balance out what\u2019s been done and prevent further extensive damage. I\u2019ve been selling, browsing and buying on eBay and in charity shops for over a decade, but want to help further normalise shopping second hand for fashion and provide a platform for those who want to join me.
\n\u201cAnd it\u2019s important to say that I still love creative design and fashion and will still buy clothes. But I will do so more thoughtfully. I will check labels. I will purchase with the planet and long term in mind.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n
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