Reinventing Fashion: Steps towards a Sustainable Industry by Zariah

Reinventing Fashion: Steps towards a Sustainable Industry by Zariah - December 2023 Scholarship Essay

Since I was younger I’ve always had a love for art and the beauty of nature. As I progressed through life that appreciation for art blossomed into an interest in the wearable art that is fashion. I soon learned from mother nature herself that what is beautiful can also be dangerous if not deadly. My eyes had opened to the impact the fashion industry and many creators had on the environment and it was sickening to find out that one thing I loved negatively affected another thing that I held dear.

When applying to college I decided that I wanted to major in fashion design and reinvent fashion in a way that is beneficial to society and the environment. I am well aware that this is something that cannot be achieved by myself alone but I am willing to pave the way for designers before and after me. My goal as a designer is to create clothing that is both sustainable and transformative. Brands have a choice whether to be sustainable or not and most of the time they decide to not be because it is expensive, “off-brand” for them, time-consuming, or they find it to be a difficult task. I think these are all excuses because designers are afraid of potentially losing money and they’d rather be comfortable than take the time to explore new options, better options.

Climate change is real and the fashion industry is responsible for 8-10% of global emissions. The industry has the tendency to dispose of clothing in ways that include incineration as well as sending them off the landfills on the coast of underdeveloped countries. Of course, this goes for both luxury and fast fashion brands; both can do a better job of being sustainable and thinking about the impacts their actions have on the environment. My plan as a designer is to create clothing that’s sustainable from beginning to end. Instead of having a linear lifestyle, I’d work towards giving fashion a circular lifestyle to reduce the amount of waste in landfills but also to promote better habits when it comes to creating and buying clothing.

That’s why I chose to major in fashion design and get a degree in science. I want to apply my learning to reinvent the fashion industry and pave the way to a sustainable future by creating circular transformative fashion.