Cora Maria

A vintage jacket I DIYed with patches from small businesses. Welcome to Part 3 of my sustainability and alternative fashion trilogy. In the first blogpost, we explored the sustainable traits of alternative fashion , and in the second blogpost, we analysed where we fall short. This week, we learn from our successes and failures to figure out how we can improve as individuals and as a community. If we want our subcultures to be a part of the sustainable fashion conversation and revolution, we need to take action together and right now via the following actions. Support alternative brands trying to be more sustainable and/or ethical. Especially those that fit a less common aesthetic. Unfortunately I only know of two brands that focus on creating sustainable and kawaii clothing. CLEAN and Strawberry Skies Designs both upcycle fabric into amazing garments. They might be expensive, but they’re charging a fair price for their time and resources. I’m not saying that ...

Jacket - fast fashion. Dress - unknown supply chain. Shoes - overseas purchase. Everything - synthetic af. Sorry everyone, but it’s time for some harsh truths. Last blogpost I wrote about why alternative fashion is sustainable , and now I will discuss why it’s not. Celebrating any step in the right direction is encouraging, but knowing the negatives shows you the way forward. This blogpost is one of the most important I have ever written, and I hope that after weeks of struggle I am able to do this topic justice. Disclaimer: There are few reliable resources that discuss the relationship between sustainability and alternative fashion. Most of the information provided either pertains to the general fashion industry or are observations I have made about the community. I encourage you to read this article critically and provide any feedback you might have. We glamourise excessive materialism. I’m starting with this because the plethora and frequency of hauls, un...

A demonstration of the average kawaii outfit with many sustainable traits. Alternative fashion is amazing and by its very nature, more sustainable than fast fashion. It’s far from perfect and we as a community have plenty of room for improvement, but I am of the firm belief that any step in the right direction deserves to be celebrated. Knowing what we already do well can be just as helpful as knowing where we fall short when we’re trying to be sustainable, hence why I’ve decided to start this blogpost trilogy about alternative fashion and sustainability on a positive note. If you are unfamiliar with sustainable fashion, I suggest you check out this TED Talk by Edda Hamar for a very brief introduction. Disclaimer: There are few reliable resources that discuss the relationship between sustainability and alternative fashion. Most of the information provided either pertains to the general fashion industry or are observations I have made about the community. I encourage ...