Issue #1: The Current: Is Luxury Fashion Ghosting on Quality?
This month we explored the complex narratives and relationships between waste and quality and the detrimental global impact of clothing devaluation.
Here's your recap of everything that happened in October 2024 š»:
A spooky statistic
A bubbling cauldron of missing infrastructure and menacing volumes of fashion items designed for disposal continue to fuel this haunting reality: less than 1% of clothing is recycled. This is one stat that should spook you. Where does the other 99% end up? Keep readingā¦
Lurking in the shadows of fashion's global supply chainā¦
A quiet but pervasive form of colonialism persistsā¦
While waste colonialism sees wealthier nations shifting responsibility for their low-quality 'charitable donations' to the Global South, African communities continue to prove themselves as masters of resourcefulness.
Across the diaspora, this enduring approach to repair and reuse has been passed down for generations, giving rise to a cohort of young, innovative Black creatives determined to transform sustainable fashion from bland to bold.
In Reclaiming Narratives on Waste: Black-Owned Upcycled Brands To Know, we spotlight the visionary designers who are reclaiming the narrative on waste through their heritage and homage to streetwear culture, revamping and re-working circular fashion through their upcycled creations.
An eerie feelingā¦
Itās not just you... the quality of our clothes is worse than ever. As consumers, weāre spending our hard-earned money on items that no longer justify their price tag. As an industry, weāre operating on business models of planned obsolescence and cut-throat practices. Itās time to focus on quality and to create clothes that are built to be loved and worn as part of the circular economy. Speaking of qualityā¦
Phantom value: is luxury ghosting on quality?
In Quiet Luxury and Loud Budgeting: Fashionās Price-Quality Paradox we dissect fashionās declining quality issue further, examining the legitimacy of āquiet luxuryā and the impact of shifting consumer expectations on price:
āWhen quiet luxury as a term began to peak in 2023, alongside trends such as de-influencing gaining popularity on TikTok, it appeared as though discussions on overconsumption were well and truly in the spotlight. With follow-up movements like underconsumption-core, further supporting the narrative that consumers want quality over quantity, one might be inclined to assume that demand for high-quality luxury is on the rise. However, much of the luxury sector continues to be impacted by the harsh reality of a global spending slowdown. Consumers are buying less but are they necessarily buying better?ā
We explore alternative ways that fashion brands can communicate value and justify pricing through circular business models that balance planet and profit.
Stay tuned for Novemberās recap and subscribe below to keep up with future discussions on fashion circularity with CircKit.