Sustainability has become the starting point for solving a problem as serious as environmental pollution and overproduction, and the fashion industry does not want to be left behind.
With terms such as ‘upcycling’ increasingly integrated into our stylistic vocabulary, the 080 podium presents for the first time a parade of secondhand apparel as part of the Government’s commitment to the circular economy. the march, which will be supported by Agència de Residus de Catalunya is christened 080 Reborn and will be responsible for the stylists and art directors Fermin + Gilles Stylist (Fermin Serret and Gilles Saint Martin), with clothing purchased from second-hand stores such as Humana, Le Swing, Pink Flamingo, and Las Pepitas, among others. according to their statements Isaac Peraire Soler, Director of the Catalonia Waste Agency From the Prensa Ibérica group to El Periódico de Catalunya, “Collaboration has been key.” The agency, the Catalan Fashion Consortium and Girbau Group are jointly promoting a secondhand fashion show at 080 for the first time. With styles created by Fermin+Gilles. For this, we have trained a large number of collaborators who opened both second-hand stores and textile waste managers, opened their workplaces and warehouses to us, and donated clothes.”
“Reuse in waste control is an important application, as it prevents these objects from becoming waste while slowing the production of new products,” he says.
Agència de Residus de Catalunya has been working for years to promote the reuse and use of second-hand products through communication campaigns, guides and financial assistance, but this fashion show is the next step. “The aim of this initiative is to value reuse to minimize waste.. In this case, we also want to give visibility to the Circular Fashion Pact. This contract, signed in May 2022, is a voluntary commitment between institutions and companies in the textile sector in Catalonia. Its aim is to facilitate the incorporation of circularity measures,” he emphasizes. The agreement already has 75 signatories, but the list is expected to continue to grow.
The stylists responsible for the parade, Fermin Serret and Gilles Saint Martin, emphasize that their work is “exciting because it is not just about looking for clothes.” “We have worked with NGOs and associations that recycle clothes and help people at risk of social exclusion,” they continue. In this context, their visits to recycling facilities stand out above all to “see”.the entire process of separating the garments and the benefit to each recycled product type”.
Stylists who admit that they have been second-hand consumers “from clothes to furniture” for years admit that “it is also a very enjoyable job” and “learned a lot”.
Peraire also describes the experience as “very positive.” “It is very well received by both second-hand textile managers and specialized stores, as well as all kinds of agencies and media in the fashion sector.”
“080 Reborn, a collection created with 100% recycled clothing from textile waste sorting plants and second-hand stores, It wants to give visibility and value to such garments in order to promote the reuse of textiles at a global and social level.” And he predicts: “We believe the parade will be a complete success and will bring prestige to the salvage, sale and use of second-hand clothing.”
In contrast, Fermin and Gilles think: It is a project to help educate the community. “Such demonstrations can help change consumption habits. “It’s fine to consume fashion, but we must also be mindful and make an effort to change the canons and adapt to the new needs of the planet.”
Regarding the exponential growth that second-hand fashion has experienced in recent years, the manager of Agència de Residus de Catalunya said, in reality, “The issue of excess textiles is not an emerging issue as this industry is one of the world’s largest consumers of resources with a large environmental impact”. In fact, “numerically, 100,000 million garments are sold worldwide each year,” a staggering number.. Every person in Catalonia produces around 22 kilos of textile waste per year. Of these, only 2.3 kg, ie 11%, are collected selectively. In most Spanish homes, textiles are still thrown away in the remainder, meaning a global figure of 147,000 tonnes of textile waste is thrown away without return. This amounts to an annual expenditure of around 30 million Euros by local authorities. stresses that we pay together separately from all associated environmental impacts”.
Stylists are upset that there are still many prejudices about buying second-hand clothes in Spain. “We are at a developing point, and although we are in a good position, there is still a lack of culture to consume reused clothing,” they say. And they give an example Barcelona is becoming a world reference when it comes to second-hand stores, “but the buyer is essentially an international public”. However, the consumer’s mindset is changing rapidly and even Zara plans to launch its second-hand clothing collection next November.
Regarding what will be seen on the podium, Fermin and Gilles, “transmitting diversity and accessibility”. “We’re recreating various fashion profiles so the public can see that daring and very visual things can be done with second-hand clothing, but we also want to show that anyone can have them in their wardrobe,” they explain.
They will parade approx. 30 ‘looks’, with a ‘cast’ that also requires variety. “As the garments are for all ‘goals’, there will be a wide representation of ethnic groups on the runway, from ‘curvy’ models to other ‘silver’ models…”. And they add: “There are 60-year-olds with a real 60-year-old woman’s body, girls who wear a size 54 and others who wear a size 38, and men who wear a size 40-42…”they list.