A Pioneer with a Social Conscience in Sustainable and Ethical Fashion

At the commencement of 2018 Carrie Van Rensburg (OH 2017) needed to choose a global challenge relating to her course that she wanted to get involved with.

Carrie chose the impact of Fast Fashion. From there, Carrie has held a documentary screening and panel discussion, started a swap market every few months at a cafe and finally held the Love Stories Fashion Show where she got to work with a variety of Melbourne brands as well as work with the St Vincent de Paul Society.

The Love Stories Fashion Show showcased garments from TUMNUS, an online share closet, Lois Hazel – a local Melbourne brand that is committed to sustainable and ethical practices, offering 100% transparency on sourcing and production for each element of garments with all craftsmanship completed either in house or by a network of local seamstresses. Collections often incorporate dead stock textiles to ensure the brand is doing what it can to minimize waste, whilst also offering exclusive and small run pieces; SANS BEAST – ethical and cruelty-free bags and accessories and Radical Yes – a footwear retailer with an ethos of conscious product, manufacturing and retailing. A collection of garments were also sourced from Vinnies styled by The Ironic Minimalist – the slow fashion stylist focusing on encouraging conscious shopping.

The show aimed to provide alternative ways of shopping rather than conventional fast fashion, no matter what your budget nor what look you are going for.

The models for the show were Year 11 Haileybury students.  Carrie wanted a way to connect younger generations to this issue by getting them to wear and showcase the clothes.