Recycling Fashion; a Collection Shot with Chloe Upton

In a time where next-day-delivery still isn’t quick enough to keep up with the next trend, how do we monitor our consumer habits when it comes to fashion?

I’ve never really been the most stylish of people, and even that’s an understatement, but there’s something about the speed at which we buy, consume and waste clothing that scares me. So with a push to buy second-hand… can the taboo of ‘old fashion’ really be by-passed?

• 

• 

• 

• 

My understanding for the importance of second-hand fashion, up-cycled oldies and ‘hand-me-down’ gems, as with most life lessons i’ve learnt, came from a young age as a trait of my mum. She was a whizz at many things, but in particular at the ability to turn almost anything old into something new…

I’m sure it was a money incentive initially, but there was no better feeling than having mum make me something ‘new’- no matter how old it really was. I still to this day remember the upset when my favourite pair of purple corduroy trousers (to reiterate; i’ve never been the most stylish of people) had become too small for me, only to find them the next day with a new lease of life in the form of an added cream flare to lengthen them. Though maybe questionable, I felt like the coolest kid around rocking my newly styled flares at the expense of my mum’s fabric collection; so at what point in my life did it become ‘weird’ to do it again?

• 

• 

• 

It’s no secret that the world of fast fashion holds some of the heaviest detrimental consequences for our planet AND its people. From waterway pollution to inadequate working conditions, the fast fashion industry has filled our media and social platforms with some undeniably scary facts.

I could write numerous blogs on each different topic and avenue of the industry (and believe me, I intend to) but one of the scariest impacts of the fashion world is its contribution to global emissions. In fact, according to an article released by the National Geographic...

“The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTD) considers fashion to be the second most polluting industry in the world, after oil.”

– National Geographic, 2019

… so why are we still consuming fashion at such an alarming rate, forgetting to enjoy pre-loved and re-loved wardrobes?

In order to mitigate the future impacts of climate change, humanitarian crisis and global waste, our consumerist actions need to dramatically change…and they need to change soon.

There is a huge abundance of second-hand platforms and sustainable companies to buy from now as a response to a rising awareness of the fashion world. With the likes of Depop, Ebay, Vinted and your trusty local charity shops… re-loving clothes has never been easier. Some incredible smaller companies are even popping up like ‘Reluv‘; a platform pioneered in my hometown of Falmouth to support charity shops with behind the scenes guidance and e-commerce. So, is it just that we’re unaware of how to find them?

Raising awareness of these new and wonderful technological avenues has become a key pointer for myself and many other ‘eco-influencers’ as we seem to be named. With the drive to prove that second hand-fashion really can look great, I teamed up with local photographer Chloe Upton to style and ocean based and eco-minded album of shots.

• 

• 

• 

• 

By sourcing a wardrobe from our own collections of second-hand items (a jumble of charity shops, hand-me-downs and Depop steals) we were able to produce a timeless collection to be proud of…

Nestled along the North Coast of Cornwall, we used the ocean and the coasts ruggedness to bring a home-built-backdrop to our vision. After a battle with the Cornish winds and an unexpected lease of life from the midday sun, Chloe curated her favourite images and edited them in her own beautiful style to express the easy ability to ‘recycle fashion’.

We hope you enjoy the final images as much as we do and allow them to inspire you to shop in a more eco-conscious and second-hand way. As always, I’d love to hear your own tips, stories and suggestions in the comments below… so type away!

You can find more of Chloe’s work on her Instagram (@chloeuptonstudio) or her website at https://www.chloeuptonstudio.com/

• 

• 

• 

•