How To Have A Slow Fashion Summer

With the summer season upon us, what are your slow fashion options? asks Tiffanie Darke.

What Does It Mean To Shop Slow Fashion In The Summer?

If you are a fan of Bella Freud’s Fashion Neurosis podcast, you will have heard a conversation between Bella and Cate Blanchett about the clothing they value the most. Bella frequently mentions how much she loves a uniform, and told Cate her mother used to make hers for school. To which Cate replied that her mother used to hand cut and sew her underwear. Her underwear! Remarkable that such everyday items as school uniform and knickers – items which we pick up today in plastic wrapped three packs – were once lovingly hand sewn by our mothers.

Having something made for you, just you, is the very opposite of fast fashion. Rabid and rapid fashion consumption has conditioned us into thinking of clothing as disposable, one season wonders (or even less) that time out as the trend cycle marches on. How deeply unsatisfying. A bespoke outfit, however, is a lengthy collaboration between you and designer, tailor or seamstress, one that’s thought out and carefully plotted. It’s the premise of couture and I’m tempted.

First stop would be Knatchbull, the women-only tailors on Savile Row. ‘When I had my first three-piece suit made, I felt like I could put my feet up on the table at a board meeting and tell everyone what I wanted,’ says founder Daisy Knatchbull, perfectly articulating the power of the ultimate fit. The process takes weeks of delicious planning, as you choose buttons, monogramming, secret embroidery, split hems, even side-adjusters on trousers, (for those after dinner moments).

If you are planning weddings, trips to the races or panicking slightly as the summer social calendar fills up, look to Lisa Redman. She specialises in reimagining heritage haute couture, creating opulent outfits intended to last a lifetime. Lisa can also start with something you already have, turning unloved gowns into jumpsuits, or modernising something ancient that has been hanging unworn for too long. She’s also brilliant at using offcuts to create matching headbands, belts and all manner of quirky accessories.

Or have a look at Deploy, where founder and designer Bernice Pan has engineered her business to gain the highest B Corp certification in fashion. Beloved by her fanbase for making versatile, adjustable corporate clothing, there’s no reason why those Deploy suits can’t step out of the boardroom and into the paddock. One can only imagine the Freud and Blanchett matriarchs would thoroughly approve.