Hello again, my beautiful Fashionistas/os!
This quarter at SCAD I am taking classes that focus more on how we, as future creators and marketers in the fashion industry, can improve the world we live in while still filling it with beauty and function. I am very passionate about fashion being an outlet through which I can not only express myself and help others do the same, but also as a way to help those around me, even if the gesture is a small one. It is very easy to go into an H&M and only see the trendy clothes and not really see what might be going on behind the scenes or who is making them. It is heavy discussions like this that permeate my 8 a.m. ethics in fashion classroom twice a week.
In an environment like this it is easy to discuss with like-minded students ways that we think companies are trying to make a difference in the fashion industry, and it is how I came up with this post. One of the girls in my class has these gorgeous beaded bracelets, and when I commented on them she told me that they were created and designed by women in Uganda and they were made from paper. What?Â
Turns out there is a company called Thirty One Bits that is striving to empower women in Uganda by helping them create and sell jewelry all over the world. This gives them an income and provides a support network that helps them get an education, healthcare and counseling–now that’s fashion I can get behind.
The jewelry has a distinct bohemian vibe that I really love, which is what had me noticing her bracelets in the first place. They are colorful and unique in a way nothing from most fast fashion retailers can really capture. It’s one of those things that you see and can’t help but ask “Where did you get those?!”
Fashion is supposed to be fun. It is an outlet in which I can either be casual and comfy or go full glam on a Monday. Above all though, fashion is what I am committing my life to and I want to be able to say I did something positive with it – even if it is something as small as stacking on some bold beads and bracelets.
