Post Growth Fashion

An introduction and my lecture at AMFI

Welcome, friends!

I decided to create this space to vent and reflect on the changing patterns in fashion. Not sewing patterns but patterns of consumption and production. Mostly because I have a rather unusual take on the fashion system and I probably see things from a different angle.

Trained as a climate ethicist and political scientist (yup, a double PhD does this to you), I have a background in all things philosophy and political theory with the focus on sustainability and environment. My PhD was on a value shift towards sustainability, a vague but super exciting and pertinent topic. I was basically trying to figure out why, knowing what we know, we are not acting on climate change (still don’t have a good answer for you, sorry!). Since over six years, I have been working on fashion consumption as an applied area of research. So I read a lot about other consumption domains, like food, mobility, and energy use. To sum this up: I am a nerd.

I am also a very sensitive person and a reformed shopaholic. In a different post, I will write about how I arrived at the current state of almost-zen in my personal fashion consumption. But the key point is that I enjoy fashion and clothes and I try to look nice and I also like to wear heels - for myself, really, they give me confidence and I look taller - I love colors, I love finding treasures in second-hand boutiques and I love dressing up. Clothes is an important part of my identity, which I recognize and cherish. Whichever project on fashion consumption I do, I measure things against myself. I test hypothesis on myself, I observe emerging patterns. And I know that there are many, many women like me who are experiencing similar journeys from overconsumption towards mindfulness. I always keep my research grounded in real life.

Finally, I also somehow got pulled into a policy world. Never thought anyone would let me in but apparently showing up at all already takes you very far. I have been working at the level of the EU and at a city level - by giving advice and providing ideas for local and European policy makers on how to support the transformation of the fashion system.

What do I mean by Post Growth Fashion?

I wanted to create this space to advance conversations and my own thinking around the future of fashion. Not future designs or materials but the system of how we experience clothing as a whole. I refer to this future state as “Post Growth Fashion”. And I wanted to share with you a recording of a public lecture that I gave at the Amsterdam Fashion Institute on December 15th, which explains exactly what it is that I mean by it.

I would like to build a community here

I know I am like super awesome and all but this substack is really about an important topic of Post Growth Fashion and how to get there. As I said in my lecture, without a vision we cannot get there, unless by accident — which is unlikely, really. In order to get what we want, we need to at a bare minimum figure out what it is that we want — and this requires intent and creativity and collaboration.

This is the Bayeux Tapestry, a 70m long embroided cloth which dates from the 11th century and which you can see for a moderate fee of a few euros in a museum in Normandy:

The origins of the Bayeux Tapestry are unknown but it is agreed upon that it was made by many women, ladies in waiting of Queen Mathilde. You can recognize this by different styles and embroidery techniques on the tapestry — each contributor left her mark, her input, like this horse - how great is this horse??

My point is not about horses, though, but about collaborative co-creation and synergies. We do not have a blueprint for a Post Growth World or fashion. Many bright and brave people are trying to work it out. In the case of Post Growth Fashion, there are many who have wonderful ideas - and it is through exchanges, conversations, and a good deal of thinking that we move forward. Each of us is adding a metaphorical horse to the tapestry of the future of fashion. And only together can we figure it out.

So… I would like to create a safe space here for people who are willing to dare to imagine a better fashion future to exchange and laugh and build together. It’s always nicer to do fun things together!

What are you signing up for

I think there’s too many newsletters, updates, and notifications out there as it is. My head is buzzing just from thinking about all this information noise. I personally don’t read almost any as I don’t have the time.

So I do NOT promise to post every week or even every month! (I likely will, though, because nothing can plug this fountain of creativity hehe). I am not a radio and I am not an entertainer; I am a researcher with a limited time.

But - as a researcher - I often do have things to share - from my own research projects, from those of others, reflections on the news, suggestions for brands, policy makers, NGOs. Everything and anything that helps us advance towards a better vision of Post Growth Fashion.

I will keep many of my posts public so please join as a free subscriber.

I am not paid at all to work on Post Growth Fashion as a researcher. Yup, c’est la vie. Your contributions and patronage could be vital in supporting my work in this field, which, I hope, many could find beneficial.

For those who are willing to support my work by buying me a “virtual” cup of coffee once a month, I will be offering something special:

• I am working on a book and I would love my ideas to test the waters with people who are thinking in similar terms. So I will be sharing some pieces that would later form a book on Post Growth Fashion.

• Once every one or two months, I will organize a discussion club for the paying subscribers, to have conversations around various aspects of degrowth, post growth, and sufficiency.