The Free Fashion Challenge

What?

On 11 November 2010 fifteen fashion addicts worldwide stopped buying clothes for one year. The ‘fashion addicts’ are a mix of fashion students and fashion professionals. Every fortnight they will share their experiences on this website, based on assignments. Some participants will get their own assignments, as going cold turkey on a fashion addiction is not the same for everyone…

Why?

Over the last few decades fashion has become more and more about consumption. Fashion became fast fashion and clothes have become disposable. Generations are growing up believing that a t-shirt truly can be made for 50 cents. With the Free Fashion Challenge we want to find out what the meaning of consumption is within the definition of fashion. We think fashion is more than shopping. Don’t get us wrong, we are no fashion haters. We love fashion but we think it is not necessarily about buying stuff. Fashion should be about creativity, adornment, joy, quality and good design.

Consumption has become a very important part of the fashion industry. The rise of fast fashion and more consumption on one hand and the necessity to live a more sustainable lifestyle on the other hand raises ethical problems. To make fashion more sustainable and long term oriented, fashion needs to change.

Green fashion pioneers come up with wonderful ideas, but to make fashion truly sustainable, we’ll have to consume less. With the Free Fashion challenge we try to find out what the meaning of consumption is within the definition of fashion. What happens to people who are fashion conscious if they cannot buy trends anymore? If they don’t ‘follow’ the strict rules of fashion, trends and mass consumption? What are their demands of clothing when they need their garments for a longer period of time?

Background

The Free Fashion Challenge is an initiative of Laura de Jong in collaboration with AMFI – Amsterdam Fashion Institute and Beyond Green. The original idea for the concept came from Kate Fletcher, sustainable designer/consultant/author, and Frank Jurgen Wijlens, lecturer at AMFI – Amsterdam Fashion Institute

Laura de Jong is a graduate of the Fashion & Branding course at AMFI – Amsterdam Fashion Insitute, who specialized as a student in fashion and sustainability. For her final thesis she examined how the definition of fashion should change to become truly sustainable. While most ‘green’ brands focus on the use of sustainable materials, Laura believes the real barrier is the way people consume and how brands stimulate this overconsumption. 

15 fashion addicts worldwide will stop buying clothes for 1 year: the Free Fashion Challenge. Through this website follow those who were daring enough to take the challenge. Suffer with them, laugh with them, experiment, be creative and explore fashion beyond consumption.