Textile Insight

IN THE MARKET | REMODE A Call to Action The Fashion Industry Decides to Wear its Values at ReMode. By Nancy Trent nyone in the fashion and retail industries in the last five to 10 years will admit it's been turned on its head with the emergence of fast fashion and e-commerce. The combustion of the two led fashion event veteran Pierre-Nicolas Hurstel to launch the inaugural industry trade show, ReMode, held in Los Angeles this past November. The show itself was designed to inspire change across all aspects of the business of fashion. And it did just that... you could feel the excitement in the air. While California fires were raging less than an hour away, giving the show heightened relevance, thought leaders gathered to discuss mainly, disrupting the industry and producing more sustainable fashion with heightened transparency from vendors, and more coop- eration from retailers. Research shows consumers are buying differently because their priorities are different. While it was once believed it was enough to do no harm, now the earth is screaming for fashion that improves the environment. The show featured four pillars of concepts to think about – Remake, Rethink, Reinvest and Remarket. The top take away from ReMode turned out to be "reformation." The reformation is related to the waste produced by the industry that accounts for 10 percent of global carbon emissions. That is more than the international aviation and maritime shipping industries combined. Much of that is due to 20 percent global wastewater that comes from the production of the garments, while cotton farming is responsible for nearly a quarter of the world's insecticides. The textile industry has been identified as major contributor to plastics in our oceans as well. These staggering statistics were included in an X-Ray Fashion Tool Kit created by Vulcan Productions that was brought to life in a virtual reality experience directed to alarm the industry about the condition it's leaving people and the planet. Fashion has become an environmental and social emer- gency. The good news is the biggest players in fashion are doing something about it as evident at ReMode. "X-Ray Fashion was truly game changing for me," said Danielle Licata, women's fashion director/VP brand director, Coterie. "Not only was it a fully immersive experience- complete with wet feet, it was thought provoking and struck a chord that will be long lasting. I left thinking about the clothing I consume in a different way. Asking questions like where does this garment come from, how are the workers who made it treated and how did the production of this piece possibly harm the world? It's not necessarily about consuming less but being aware of the issues, consuming much smarter and recycling or upcycling to not create as much waste." The Show Itself The event had keynotes from celebrity Rosario Dawson and Amber Valetti, designers Rebecca Minkoff, Nicole 10 • Textile Insight ~ January/February 2019 textileinsight.com Circularity: Swiftly becoming the holy grail of the fashion industry, "circularity" is a relatively new way of thinking for this industry that's being adopted. Visions, strate- gies, supply chains, and practical procedures need to be assessed, new materials invented and tested, dangers banned and new suppliers and partnerships initiated. Inventing materials: Reducing is not enough. Materials need to change and they are. New formulas are replacing naturals fibers. Designers are consider- ing the longevity of textiles when selecting them. Our grandchildren should be able to wear the clothes we buy today. Fabrics are being created knowing that they will be discarded. Concepts include fibers that start decomposing as you wear them. Experiments are being done on fibers created from banking human hair and skin cells. Fabric from used surfboards is also now available. Retail disconnect: Consumers want quality first and price second. They are turning to retail for experi- ence not convenience. Retailers need to hold their inventory to a higher standard and find a way to connect with what consumers want. Fifty-three percent of retailers say mobile is most important. Just 2 percent use smart speakers as a strategy, whle 43 percent of con- sumers use smart speakers such as Alexa to shop. Community building: Marketing has gone from traffic generation to community building. Winning with wholesale: Henry Ford said if you gave people what they wanted we would still be seeking faster horse buggies. Retail isn't dying. Mediocre retail is. Holding suppliers to your prin- ciples: Almost every speaker encouraged the audience to hold suppliers to their principles and show retailers that consumers buy principles and stories more than low price. Top Talking Points From the Conference Panelists at ReMode.

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