Exciting alternative fashion news from around the world

Alternative fashion isn’t just for the few. It’s for all of us, a great way to do our bit to win the fight against fast, throwaway fashion and the vast amounts of waste it causes. We’re seeing positive reports about the fashion industry as a whole, which with a bit of luck could become 80% circular by 2030, a dramatic difference in focus. And there are some fabulous tips out there for making the most of the clothes you’ve got. Here’s the latest alternative fashion news for you.

Is your dress or top too big? Do this!

A new TikTok video has gone viral, as reported by the Daily Mail. If your dress or your long-line top is too baggy, there’s no need to struggle with a needle and thread. All you need to achieve this simple fashion hack is a bangle and an elastic band. It doesn’t just do the trick, it also looks rather nice. And you can always make a feature of it by cinching in the front of the dress or top instead of the back.

New ‘pleather’ start-up wins $46m funding

In California a start-up making cell-cultivated leather has just been awarded $46 million in funding from a bunch of rich investors, including the maker of the luxury fashion brands Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. They’re called VitroLabs Inc and they make cellular-cultivated leather that feels just like animal skin. The funding will be spent on scaling up the company’s operations and start test-manufacturing later this year. It’s one in a run of businesses replicating animal products, a sector that’s growing incredibly fast. Over 50% of the new businesses involved have launched since 2014 and most make pleather from mushroom roots called mycelium. Others are using pineapples, cactus, and even stem cell technology to create feel-good leather substitutes.

Can the fashion sector go 80% circular by 2030?

A circular economy involves sharing, renting out, re-using, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products as much as possible, for as long as possible. It’s all about minimising waste and energy. When a product comes to the end of its life the materials it’s made from stay within the economy, used time and time again to create better value. Global Fashion Agenda says the fashion industry could become 80% sustainable by 2030. At the moment it is failing to rein its emissions in. Less than 1% textile waste is recycled into new materials or clothes. Then there’s ‘planned obsolescence’, where clothes are designed with a limited lifespan in mind, and fast fashion, which involves buying cheap clothing, wearing it a few times, then throwing it away.

You can find out more here, and Fashion Revolution is leading the fight. In the meantime it’s great to see a bunch of Canadian entrepreneurs on the trail of long-term solutions to fast fashion waste, which is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than the world’s international flights and shipping combined. You can read about it here. 

As you can imagine our alternative clothes are far from fast. They last and last. When they eventually wear out or you fancy a change, they can be repurposed. The quality fabrics we insist on make stunning scatter cushions, or you can cut them up to make your own unique patchwork throw or bedcover. Maybe you have some bright ideas of your own? If so, we’d love to see photos.

Fashion gets a facelift

Avery Dennison’s Re-Think Packaging range includes a 100% recycled poly bag made from GRS-certified material. It has been designed to provide an alternative to single-use fashion packaging. At the same time a firm called Digety is revolutionising electronic price labels in the fashion industry, choosing a company called Ynvisible to supply re-usable digital price labels for sustainable clothing and fashion brands. The new labels are as flexible as paper labels and will reduce electronic waste. And in Perth, Australia, the Sloane Street boutique is all about renting luxury fashion rather than buying it. The idea is for customers to look a million dollars without spending a fortune.  

CNN’s 35 easy fashion fixes

Ripped jeans? Broken heels? Boobs falling out of your new top? CNN has come up with 35 handy fixes for fashion nightmares. When you’d rather find a solution than throw your clothes away, it’s perfect. Take a look here. 

Keep the photos coming – We love to see you in our fab alternative clothes!

We’re loving seeing our gorgeous customers wearing our alternative fashions. You look fantastic, and we’re really excited by your creativity and style! If you haven’t explored it yet, here’s a page full of lovely people wearing delicious things from our store. Please send us more fab photos of you in your latest Wicked Dragon buy!