From Natural Dyes to Reading Nature's Signals, Re-Finding Knowledge Disrupted by Colonialism

Bobby Kolade is the designer behind Ugandan fashion label Buzigahill - which puts the politics of upcycling and waste colonialism at its core with the brilliant, provocative concept: Return to Sender.Buzigahill's collections are made from items of secondhand clothing donated in the global north, and increasingly being dumped on the global south in unsustainable numbers. Why “return to sender”? Because much of Buzigahill’s clientele is in Europe and North America.Like Kantamanto in Accra, Ghana; Owino Market in Kampala receives huge numbers of bales of second-hand clothing every week, from countries in Europe, from the US and Canada. As a result, in 2023 second-hand accounted for 80% of all domestic clothing sales in Uganda.But how much is too much? Who is monitoring for quality and consistency? Are we right to keep talking about "donations" in the context of this undeniably big business? As Bobby says, it's not charity - it's a trade, and too often an unequal one with many impacts on local economies as well as the environment when it becomes textile waste. So surely it's good, right, when a receiving country finally says: "No more! We don't want your cast-offs." Or is it? As usual, there’s no simple answer...This enthralling conversation was recorded before Uganda’s government announced a ban on second-hand clothing towards the end of last year. A situation that continues to evolve.Can you help us spread the word ?Wardrobe Crisis is an independent production. We don't believe in barriers to entry and are determined to keep this content free.If you value it, please help by sharing your favourite Episodes, and rating and reviewing us in Apple orSpotify. Thank you!Find Clare on Instagram @mrspress Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What do your clothes say about you? Dear listener, I bet you've thought about this before. Fashion is a language in itself. But, what about the language we use to describe - and by extension to include, or to exclude - the people who wear it? Or don't get to wear it? The people we're marketing it to, or employing.Fashion communication isn't just about the clothes. It's about how we talk to each other.Meet Lou Croff Blake, a Berlin-based non-binary fashion practitioner, scholar, artist and community organiser. Their work merges queer theory with community-building, advocating for intersectional equity and amplifying the visibility of marginalised genders. Which sounds like a of words! Because it is. Carefully considered words chosen to challenge the dominant narrative.Open to learn? Join us on a deep dive on DIEB - diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging - as we consider the existential question: do we really want to build a more ethical fashion industry? If so, doesn't that have to be one where everyone can feel a true sense of belonging? Check the shownotes for links & further reading.Tell us what you think! Can you help us spread the word ?Wardrobe Crisis is an independent production. We don't believe in barriers to entry and are determined to keep this content free.If you value it, please help by sharing your favourite Episodes, and rating and reviewing us in Apple orSpotify. Thank you!Find Clare on Instagram @mrspress Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can fashion lift its inclusivity game? When 28-year-old British model Junior Bishop - who just so happens to be a wheelchair user - spoke at the Houses of Parliament recently, she called on the fashion industry to do more to tackle its disability access issues. Levelling the playing field is integral to the wellbeing economy - what’s the point of only some of us get to have our wellbeing considered?“When looking at fashion and media today,” said Junior, diversity and representation are gradually improving. That’s important. “We hope to simply see people who look like us - our ‘imperfections’, our ‘flaws’, the little things that make us who we are.” Also, purely from the economic rationale, how do brands expect to sell to people who don’t see themselves in campaigns?As Junior acknowledged: “The excitement of being able to see someone who is a wheelchair user, a cane user despite their age, has a limb difference, has Down syndrome, has albinism, the list goes on… Having those with disabilities or their family members tearfully say ‘I didn’t know people like us could do that kind of thing’; that is why this movement needs to continue to grow." Representation is an important first step, but we can’t stop there.This inspiring conversation, packed with practical advice and emotional intelligence, comes with a call to action: want to do better on this stuff? Ask disabled people what they need!Check the shownotes for links & further reading.Tell us what you think! Can you help us spread the word ?Wardrobe Crisis is an independent production. We don't believe in barriers to entry and are determined to keep this content free.If you value it, please help by sharing your favourite Episodes, and rating and reviewing us in Apple orSpotify. Thank you!Find Clare on Instagram @mrspress Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rich, white and privileged - the creative arts sector has a class problem. Particularly in class-obsessed Britain, where middle-class people are twice as likely to work in creative jobs than their working class contemporaries. According to the Evening Standard, "the worlds of TV, film, music and the arts are dominated by straight, able-bodied white men living in London, despite them only accounting for 3.5% of the [UK] population."Not that this is purely a UK problem. In New York, 85% of artists represented by commercial galleries are white. In Australia, where one in four of us were born overseas, culturally and linguistically diverse creatives are still barely represented in fashion at all. And consider the global luxury brands, with their spate of recent cookie-cutter creative director hires - can anyone actually tell the difference between these men from their photos alone?But, "What about the new editor at Vogue?" I hear you say. Too often, the celebrated hire is still the only Black or brown person in the room.I bet you can think of a thousand places where career progress is affected by your postcode, where you went to school and what your parents did. And lurking behind all that: race, gender, sexuality, difference, not to mention how much cash you've got...It's time for a power shift!Meet Rahemur Rahman, a British-Bengali artist, educator and designer who is determined to change the system, not simply tinker round the edges of representation. He made it, despite the odds. Raised in working class Tower Hamlets, he studied fashion at Central Saint MartinsHe studied fashion at Central Saint Martins, where he now teaches. Designs from his debut London Fashion Week collection menswear collection were acquired by the V&A Museum. Now, he's the director of training and development at Bari, a new incubator supporting South Asian creatives in East London as part of the British Bangladeshi Fashion Council.This is a lively conversation about what it takes to, practically, turn things around - not just talk about it. Hint: no true diversity and inclusion without addressing the class barrier!We're also talking the creative innovation meets heritage craft, social impact fashion, holidays with friends, and the joy of working on what matters.Check the shownotes for links & further reading.Tell us what you think! Can you help us spread the word ?Wardrobe Crisis is an independent production. We don't believe in barriers to entry and are determined to keep this content free.If you value it, please help by sharing your favourite Episodes, and rating and reviewing us in Apple orSpotify. Thank you!Find Clare on Instagram @mrspress Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We all know clothes have meaning, beyond just looking nice. We’ve often talked on this podcast about the importance of how they are made. This week, we’re considering how fashion’s meaning stretches beyond supply chains and our wardrobes, to shape our culture and the way we see ourselves collectively. How does fashion see itself when it comes to race and privilege? How about the male gaze?Clare sits down with Caryn Franklin, journalist, style icon, fashion citizen (not consumer, please!), one-time presenter of The Clothes Show and all-time national treasure. These days her work centres on education and activism - she’s a visiting professor of diverse selfhood at Kingston School of Art, in London, and gained her MSc in applied psychology specialising in selfhood, objectification, inclusivity and gender bias.Partly, this interview is a personal one about a life in clothes but it’s also a provocation: How can we use fashion as a vehicle for positive self-esteem, rather than allowing it to make too many of us feel small, too much of the time?All up, rollocking good chat with Caryn Franklin, MBE. Enjoy!Check the shownotes for links & further reading.Tell us what you think! Can you help us spread the word ?Wardrobe Crisis is an independent production. We don't believe in barriers to entry and are determined to keep this content free.If you value it, please help by sharing your favourite Episodes, and rating and reviewing us in Apple orSpotify. Thank you!Find Clare on Instagram @mrspress Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How much is enough? How can creatives incorporate the idea of sufficiency in their output? If you make physical objects, what does it really mean to be sustainable in your practice? And, how can you, as my guest this week, Richard Malone, puts it, "do your own thing and stick to it" in the context of fashion's relentless push for newness?Also, where does class and privilege play into all this? Does Fashion with a capital ‘F’ actually want to be more inclusive and welcoming? Or is all the talk of breaking down the barriers just lipservice? The fact is: many of the people who “make it” in fashion have an had a head start. You only have to look at the current obsession with Gen Z nepo babies. Let's not pretend the playing field is level.Richard Malone is queer London-based, Irish fashion designer, artist and maker, whose work challenges subtly a system that's built on unfair advantages. A thought-provoking conversation about everything from colonisation and the loss of Irish craft traditions, to what fashion shows are really for!Check the shownotes for links & further reading.Tell us what you think! Can you help us spread the word ?Wardrobe Crisis is an independent production. We don't believe in barriers to entry and are determined to keep this content free.If you value it, please help by sharing your favourite Episodes, and rating and reviewing us in Apple orSpotify. Thank you!Find Clare on Instagram @mrspress  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why does fashion have such a problem in accepting all bodies they way they are, and recognising the beauty in different shapes and sizes? I know, I know, we’ve heard it all before, yet depressingly little changes.Our guest this week has had enough! Self-described as “that body morphing b*tch”, Michaela Starck is a super-talented London-based Aussie creative director/designer/dreamboat who’s beautiful work includes her own glorious self, as well as Paris-worthy, bow-bedecked frillies.A frank convo on fat-shaming, where the body positivity movement fails, and the magical powers of backing your own vision. Even when people in your life keep telling you you’ll never make it? Especially then! Take that, naysayers!Check the shownotes for links & further reading.Tell us what you think! Can you help us spread the word ?Wardrobe Crisis is an independent production. We don't believe in barriers to entry and are determined to keep this content free.If you value it, please help by sharing your favourite Episodes, and rating and reviewing us in Apple orSpotify. Thank you!Find Clare on Instagram @mrspress  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you’re interested in natural dyes, or want to know more about hands-on textile techniques, this episode is a joy. It's also a great one if you are into ideas around seasonality and connection to Nature. Aren't we all?!Continuing our Pacific theme (don’t miss last week’s Episode with Fiji Fashion Week’s Ellen Whippy-Knight) these two stories are also from Fiji, but a long way from its capital Suva. They’re both about different aspects of Indigenous practices, and living in balance with the the land, the oceans, the skies and biodiversity.First, meet Letila Mitchell, a renowned artist, designer and performer from Rotuma. Her work in the fashion space grew out of costume, & has developed into a practice that’s all about revitalising traditional Rotuman textile making, and re-finding cultural knowledge disrupted by colonisation.Our second interview is with Noleen Billings, from Savusavu, on Fiji’s northern island of Vanua Levu. Noleen isn't famous or a fancy expert in anything other than common sense but her simple message is a powerful one: In the busy modern world, it’s easy to forget the Nature usually knows best. Indigenous wisdom is deeply connected with reading Nature’s signals, and we can all learn from that. There are universal lessons in here, as well as some thought-provoking questions. For example, what does it mean to be wise? Where does schooled knowledge, written down in books, fit in - and why do we have to so rigid about it? Knowledge that’s shared and passed down in different ways is just as important…Check the shownotes for links & further reading.Tell us what you think! Can you help us spread the word ?Wardrobe Crisis is an independent production. We don't believe in barriers to entry and are determined to keep this content free.If you value it, please help by sharing your favourite Episodes, and rating and reviewing us in Apple orSpotify. Thank you!Find Clare on Instagram @mrspress  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Anna Wintour was introduced to Ellen Whippy-Knight as the founder of Fiji Fashion Week, the Vogue editor-in-chief exclaimed, “Fiji has a fashion week?!” Sure does, Anna. It turned 16 last year, and is an established force in a small yet burgeoning Pacific fashion scene.White sands and turquoise waters. Surf breaks. Rugby. Fiji is rightly famous for these things, it’s also an international garment-manufacturing country with an independent design community, mainly focused on the local market and the Fijian diaspora.Now Ellen, a formidable fashion force in her own right, is determined to bring sustainability and technical design education into the picture...Check the shownotes for links & further reading.Tell us what you think!Can you help us spread the word about Series 9? Wardrobe Crisis is an independent production. We don't believe in barriers to entry and are determined to keep this content free.If you value it, please help by sharing your favourite Episodes, and rating and reviewing us in Apple or Spotify. Thank you!Find Clare on Instagram @mrspress Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Addicted to thrifting? Wondering where all your money’s gone? Feeling the fashion clutter feels? If you answered “yes” to any of the above, it might be time for a fashion detox.From Slow Fashion Season to ReMake’s 90-day No New Clothes challenge to the Rule of 5, more of us are looking for ways to circuit-break bad fashion habits. There’s a real movement going on with conscious fashionistas sharing what’s worked for them when it comes to slowing down, buying and wasting less.Our first guest for 2024 is Jenna Flood, a slow fashion stylist who’s been sharing tips and tricks with her followers around what she calls her Wardrobe Freeze.It all began for Jenna after she created a spreadsheet to track where her money was disappearing to. Turns out she was over-spending on ethical brands and treating second-hand like it was fast fashion – ultra high turnover. It didn’t help that she works in a consignment store surrounded by temptation…What rules did she set for herself? How did she stick with them? And, was it worth it?Jenna says completing her challenge has left her with a thrilling sense of freedom.Now, you can’t buy that!Check the shownotes for links & further reading.Can you help us spread the word about Series 9? Wardrobe Crisis is an independent production. We don't believe in barriers to entry and are determined to keep this content free.If you value it, please help by sharing your favourite Episodes, and rating and reviewing us in Apple or Spotify. Thank you!Find Clare on Instagram @mrspress Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.