BE MORE BEAUTIFUL WITH SLOW FASHION NOW

SLOW FASHION

Slow Fashion is a beautiful thing.

Just as the Slow Food movement has rallied against fast, industrialized, homogenized, and soul-less food, the Slow Fashion movement aims to remind us of the pleasures of beautiful clothing, arguing that the fast disposable duds we can buy so cheaply now from the super-discount H&Ms of the world have no art, no heart, and no sense of connection.

Slow Fashion considers the arc from design through production, use and reuse.

It is local, sustainable, high-quality, beautiful, and...slow.

While bargains can be a thrill, they are made with materials, processes, and practices that damage the planet and exploit people, as Elizabeth Cline, author of Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion points out. Slow Fashion is beautifully made to last. It is clothing that is meant to be cherished.

ADIE+GEORGE

A leader in the slow fashion movement, California clothing company Adie + George produces clothing made from local natural fibers. They’ve recently presented their first full collection of Northern California artisan-spun local and seasonally-dyed knits.

We love their alpaca knits in natural white and natural black alpaca, dyed with oxalis in winter and with wild fennel in summer.

J. HILL FELT

One of the most beautiful lines of Slow Fashion that we’ve discovered is that of J. Hill Felt. Jenny Hill is a felt artist. She creates high-quality wearable art that is one-of-a-kind and luxurious.

Using an ancient textile method, felting, Hill bonds natural fibers together using only hand-friction, soap and water. Each piece has its own unique magnificence. Each channels the character of the artisan.

J. Hill uses natural high quality fibers such as wool, silk and bamboo, sourced whenever possible from local, organic producers. The creation process is entirely handmade, without machines. No harsh chemicals are ever used in the process.

We love Hill’s works because they embody, not only the purity and authenticity of her craft, felt making, but because she has truly found her element. She is an artist. Her designs are exquisite. Her medium is felt. It is slow. It is extraordinary. You can love it forever.

LENA MILAGROS

“The clothing industry leaves a big fat footprint on mother earth,” explains clothing designer Lena Milagros. Her garments are all handmade, using only naturally dyed natural fibers. And she prices her clothing on a sliding scale -- depending on who’s buying.

CLAUDY JONGSTRA

The Dutch felt artist Claudy Jongstra keeps her own flock of sheep and grows species of plants that contain pigments from which she extracts her dyes, giving her extraordinary works another layer of magical slow beauty. Dutch Frisian fado singer and actress Nynke Laverman rocks Jongstra's gorgeous felt headpiece.

HANNA FELTING

Icelandic designer, Hanna Pétursdóttir, of HANNA Felting works closely with local artisans to make beautiful Slow Fashion. It is made with local fibers handpicked from free-grazing sheep, cotton, and silk. It is hand finished by artisans in remote and picturesque Icelandic village of Seydisfjördur.

PENDLETON:  THE PORTLAND COLLECTION

The Portland Collection by Portland designers Nathaniel Crissman, Rachel Turk and John Blasioli for Pendleton is all handmade. Pendleton joined the slow fashion movement only recently in 2012.

Pendleton is one of few American manufacturers who has remained dedicated to producing everything locally and responsibly in its 100+ year-old mills. They use sustainable wool, recycled materials, and continually reduce their water and energy usage through better technology.

When we know the people who grow and make the materials, who design and make the garments, we can celebrate them. And we can celebrate the added value of humanity. It makes anything we wear so much more beautiful.

In addition to being proud of what you are wearing, with Slow Fashion, you can be proud of why you are wearing it.

Read more about Beautiful Slow, as they relate to Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact including A Beautiful Slow Small World Now, Beautiful Slow Secrets Revealed Now and Beautiful Slow Food Now.

Enter your own images and ideas about Beautiful Slow in this week’s creative Photo Competition. Open for entries now until 11:59 p.m. PT on 02.22.15. If you are reading this after that date, check out the current BN Creative Competition, and enter!

IMAGE CREDITS:

1. Photo: by Chloe Aftel. Adie+George AW11 Collection.
2. Photo: Courtesy of A Thousand Fireflies. Eri Silk.
3. Photo: by Chloe Aftel. Courtesy of Adie+George. Adie+George AW11 Collection.
4. Image: Courtesy of J. Hill Felt. SV Wrap: Seamless, hand felted wrap made of fine silk and wool.
5. Image: Courtesy of J. Hill Felt. Numo Felt Dress, Chrome.
6. Image: Courtesy of J. Hill Felt. Purple Passion Luxury Wrap.
7. Image: Courtesy of J. Hill Felt.. Snowflake Kimono.
8. Photo: Courtesy of Lena Milagranos. Slow Fashion - Hand Woven Shirts.
9. Photo: Courtesy of Nynke. Garment designed by felt artist Claudy Jongstra.
10. Image: Courtesy of HANNA Felting. HANNA Felting Design.
11. Photo: Courtesy of The Portland Collection. Weaving Press at the Portland Collection Facilities.
12. Photo: Courtesy of The Portland Collection. Summer Collection.
13. Photo: Courtesy of Maker’s Row. Behind the Scenes of a Beltmaker.
14. Photo: Courtesy of Manufacture New York. Hand Weaving.
15. Image: Courtesy of Claudy Jongstra. Colouring process.
16. Image: Courtesy of J. Hill Felt. Blue & Tan Shawl. Seamless, hand felted shawl made of fine silk and wool.