A local slow fashion designer says sustainable fashion is “having its moment.”
Laoise Carey, who has a studio in Nenagh, produces garments using recycled and sustainable materials.
She encourages locals to do their part by donating old household items and clothing, as designers like her benefit from it and give it a new life.
Laoise says people are becoming more aware of the impacts of fast fashion now.
“I think slow fashion is having it’s moment. I think it’s going to grow more and more in the next ten years. I think people are becoming more aware of Irish brands and local makers, people are seeing the downfalls of fast fashion; it’s more visible to us online, social media, and even in the news you’re seeing all of the horrible tings that are go on in different countries that exploits works and pollute the environment.”
Often, the materials used by slow fashion designers will already have lived a life before coming to her studio, making the shopping experience more unique and special for slow fashion consumers.
Speaking to Tipp FM, Laoise explains one example of how a transformed piece of donated pre-owned materials and clothing sparked joy for its new owner.
“Just recently, a lady bought one of my blouses from last year. She messaged me to say her grandmother used to have bed linen and curtains in this exact fabric. I had inherited that fabric from someone else who had donated it to me, so I wasn’t sure initially where the fabric had come from. But this lady’s grandmother had that fabric, and when she passed away, the family donated it all to charity, so it’s highly possible that that fabric was the exact one that her grandmother had.”