By Daniëlle Gerber
Stellenbosch fashion – dressed to regress? Today’s trends show a style that has transformed to embrace expression, as more outspoken pieces are circulating back into fashion. During the pandemic, we saw a rise in fashion subcultures[i] like Y2K(year 2000) fashion – encasing the early 2000s styles and trends – which has brought about a fresh change in the industry.
As is to be expected, a parallel trend can be seen as corporations are eager to invite these trends to their shelves. However, at what cost to our planet? In the past, consumers would rely on second-hand stores, consignment stores, or Etsy shops to get their fix of unique items. Now you can simply pop into fast fashion brands like The Fix, Mr Price, H&M, Cotton On, and Factorie at the Eikestad Mall, or make use of online fast fashion stores like Shein or Zaful, to get your next outfit.
This convenience is elapsing the importance of slow and more conscious fashion. While maybe not solely for sustainable imperatives, this new style did encourage the revisiting and reworking of items you already have, especially considering that most in-person retailers were closed. Additionally, what can also be noticed is the increase in the cost of second-hand items, especially when advertised as vintage or retro.
Browsing the Dorp Street Sunday Market will show you many beautiful items but you might find the price of these items to be slightly higher than that of their corporate competitors. While one might argue that this is because of increased quality or uniqueness, with conventional retailers now manufacturing similar items, some relevance is lost. Gone are the days of baggy jeans, grandpa sweaters, or chunky shoes only found in thrift stores.
Is paying more for clothing items, however, such a big problem? Recent years have seen an increase in fast fashion – to the extent of annually an estimated 92 million tons of textiles end up on landfills[ii]. This is especially concerning considering that the Stellenbosch landfill has reached its capacity in 2019 already[iii]. These are items with a style not relevant or quality not suitable for extended use.
Investing in better quality and more timeless pieces, rather than rushing to buy the trends from Eikestad Mall, will allow more-conscious choices – and it does not have to make you any less stylish. Clear accessibility barriers do exist so intention rather than perfection can be emphasised.
[i] Kristen Bateman, The 10 TikTok Subcultures Shaping Fashion Right Now (Online: W Magazine)
[ii] Abigail Beal, Why clothes are so hard to recycle (Online: BBC)
[iii] Stuart Grobbelaar, Stellenbosch launches new Waste Material Recovery Facility (Online: Stellenbosch.gov)
