Why?

Why do I keep pursuing my fashion dream when despite my best efforts, things are simply not moving forward? Even my closest friends ask me this question. It’s difficult to put it into words but I just can’t let go… Fashion is what makes me come alive!

A career coach advised me to avoid talking about fashion during job interviews, because my passion comes across too strongly. I did manage to drop it a few years ago, putting London Fashion Hunter to rest, when it was clear what was going on behind the scenes.

We are all familiar with it now: lack of respect for nature, the widespread abuse of manufacturing workers, and the relentless consumerism, instigated by powerful marketing strategies that only make people’s lives more and more hollow.

At the time, I have applied to do a PHD on this subject at Central Saint Martins with the idea to write a book about it with the results of my research. Unfortunately, my application wasn't successful and my life took a different direction altogether.

But I couldn’t resist focusing on the fashion industry yet again, when sustainability started to gain momentum. It does feel like a wonderful opportunity to reframe fashion and the way people perceive it.

I’ve written quite a few blog posts to raise awareness of the power we have as consumers to change the industry.

I always wanted to create new clothes but the world doesn’t need them, in fact tonnes of clothes end up in landfills or being incinerated, so the only way forward is to reduce production and make fashion circular.

There’s a need to revamp old clothes and this is where I could definitely make a difference. The point is to create a new fashion business where everything is sustainable and chic.

Upcycling is where my heart truly is, but the business would also allow people to swap clothes and buy either secondhand or newly produced items from a selection of sustainable brands. So far, I haven’t managed to secure neither grants nor investment, but this may still happen in the future.

One cannot underestimate the power of why. Simon Sinek even wrote a book about this, and you can also watch his Ted Talk. Both Oprah Winfrey and Natalie Portman mention it when they addressed recently graduated students at Harvard University.

This led to the contemplation on my why… Why do I continue pursuing my fashion dream?

My main purpose is to disrupt fashion and contribute towards its circularity. I also want to build a retail business that is driven by love, for both people and the planet, where profit is just a means to an end.