CONSCIOUS CONVERSATIONS WITH MARIA
“We only wear 20% of our wardrobe, so my advice is to take care and appreciate what you already have!
I like to think of things this way: Do I need it? Can I borrow/rent it? Can I make it myself? Can I buy it second hand?”
1. When did your journey with sustainable fashion begin? Tell us about how/why you became so committed to sustainable fashion?
My journey with sustainable fashion has been very long and sometimes not too sweet, it started around 2008 – the early days of blogs. I read plenty of blogs for outfit and music inspiration.
Thrifting and making your own things were very popular at that time in Sweden. I would do weekly visits to my local thrift shops and I would also knit, sew and make my own jewellery. I would say it was more out of aesthetic purposes, to be able to buy bits cheaper and at the same time create a unique looks for my own blog. There was not too much talk about the actual sustainable factors at that time but I never liked waste. Fast forward to 2012 and I moved to London for an internship, and was shocked at the terrible range of items in charity shops and crazy high prices in vintage stores. I started to reach for the highstreet stores (There is no Pr*m*rk in Sweden!) and I started to get gifts from brands to promote on Instagram. The visits to the fast fashion high street stores did not go on for that long – but the Instagram promotion gifting did!
At that point, my mental health went hand in hand with the pressure of Instagram. Have this, wear this, take a photo of this, post this, buy this! One day I had enough. I sat in a room filled with more than 70 pairs of shoes and racks filled with clothes that did not fill ANY joy – I also worked as a stylist. I hated getting things sent to me (without warning) that sometimes did not fit me, terrible quality and worst of all, I did not want this item! I started to email to all my PR contacts and said, please check in with me before you send anything out. I also explained, I am trying to minimise my belongings and live a more sustainable life.
Now I am a proud outfit repeater, I barely buy any clothes (I have not bought anything this year except two pairs of panties!), and I am very selective with brands I collaborate with.
I also started to look for how to apply a sustainable angle onto my professional life – and one day I saw that Fashion Revolution was looking for a graphic designer, I spent weeks on my application as I really wanted this job and I am still so happy that I got it. Here I have been able to apply my skills and ideas on how to actively work towards a better and more fair fashion industry. I learn new things everyday. I am incredibly grateful to be able to work with people who have the same values as you, it's very important to me.
2. How would you describe your style?
I am a very good outfit repeater. I love a good pair of trousers, with an oversized t-shirt or long sleeve, hoodie and then a pair of comfy shoes.
When it gets a bit warmer I do love a cute dress with a pair of sneakers. I would describe it as comfortable, cosy and cared for.
3. Do you have a sustainable love story? What's your favourite find?
My sustainable love story would be dedicated to my baby pink Lacoste sweater that my mum found in a charity shop when I was about 1 year old, and I found it in my mums wardrobe a few years ago: https://www.instagram.com/p/B_M5oYUFyWt/
4. What are your top tips for someone trying to be more sustainable with their fashion?
We only wear 20% of our wardrobe, so my advice is to take care and appreciate what you already have!
I like to think of things this way: Do I need it? Can I borrow/rent it? Can I make it myself? Can I buy it second hand? If it's a no on all, then lastly buy new and buy better. But keep going back to the question:
Do you really need it or do you just want it?