Look & learn sustainable style

JESSIKA GUY HAS ALL HER BEST IDEAS WHILE CUTTING HAIR.

“I had the director of Gallery Stratford in my chair one day,” says the hairstylist and owner of The Green Hair Spa. “I said: ‘What do you think of the idea of a trashion show—a fashion show of clothes made from trash?

“She said ‘That sounds great’ and suddenly it spiralled into Trashion Week.”

Intended to bring attention to everyday actions we can make to be more sustainable in our fashion habits, the week of fashion and art events celebrates recycled, upcycled and sustainably produced objects of beauty.

With proceeds going to the Emily Murphy Centre for an environmental audit on its building, Trashion Week 2019 will feature seven separate events during Earth Week, April 14 to 20.

Now that Trashion Week is established—it’s in its second year—the fashion and art event has spiralled even more, and Resonance is proud to be participating.

Resonance staff will be  at the Stratford Country Club on April 16, modelling sustainable spring fashions while brand representatives lead a Look and Learn event. They’ll share stories about how these companies have improved manufacturing practices, delving into sustainable practices behind brand names like Eileen Fisher, FIG, Aventura, Miik and more.  

We’ll also introduce a new-to-us line of jeans, Triarchy. The denim brand with Canadian roots is now leading the way in the sustainable denim industry. You’ll learn how Triarchy uses post-consumer recycled materials, water-conserving manufacturing practices and recycled hardware and tags to make their jeans.

Getting ready for the event has been exciting. If you’ve been in the store, you’ve noticed that we’ve gathered all our sustainable brands into one area. Let’s just say: It’s resonating!

To be honest, I hadn’t fully realized Resonance’s strength as a sustainable fashion store before Jessika invited us into the Trashion Week spiral. The act of re-organizing in preparation for the Look and Learn opened up new possibilities for the future.

The truth is, one third of our inventory is now sustainable, but the transformation wasn’t driven by a personal commitment to the environment. As the buyer for Resonance, I’m always scanning the fashion horizon for beautiful and practical items I know my customers will love to wear, over and over.

But I was so intently focused on the beautiful and the practical I hadn’t noticed that sustainability has become such a strong factor. Ethical and environmental brands are walking out the door at a steady rate. They’re also starting conversations about sustainable fashion among customers and staff, and that’s part of the fun.

All of this excitement means sustainable brands can thrive and grow without harming the environment or the people that create their products. So it’s an exciting time to be in the industry.

In that spirit of excitement, and in honour of the sustainable ethos Jessika is bringing to Stratford’s economy with Trashion Week, we’ve decided to embrace the concept of sustainable fashion at Resonance. We’ll be adding more environmentally minded finds next season. And we’re also creating more sustainable business practices.

For example, we’ll be collecting textile waste in the store for responsible disposal. Got some old jeans that are paint stained and therefore no good for the used clothing market? If you bring them to the store, we’ll take them to the textile recycling at the Stratford Dump.

As well, we’ve been collecting neckline ribbons for recycling, and we’re collecting signatures to petition manufacturers to stop this wasteful practice.

WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT SUSTAINABLE FASHION?

You can learn more about why sustainable manufacturing processes are important in the fashion world--specifically the denim industry--at the Trashion Week screening of River Blue.

The doc follows the international river conservationist Mark Angelo around the world as he explores how toxic manufacturing processes in the denim industry are destroying our river systems.

Following the screening, a panel discussion will feature the film’s director, Roger Williams, Canadian Freshwater Alliance project director Lindsay Telfer, and the founder of Fashion Takes Action, Kelly Drennan.

The screening adds a new layer to the Trashion Week experience, Jessika explains.

“It’s getting down to the root of why Trashion Week is important.”

Trashion Week begins on April 14 with a Thrift and Vintage Fashion Show at Revival House, featuring outfits crafted from clothing found at area thrift and vintage stores.

We’ll be there. Hope to see you!

Get tickets here.