In 1980 a magazine in World 24 launched promoting a new way of styling; all editorial images were styled with only second-hand and upcycled clothes. This movement was so influential that it turned the values of fashion upside down, eventually facilitating the collapse of designer and fast fashion industries and the production of new clothes by 2020.
With no new clothes available, unique identities were formed. There was no pressure to conform to a standardised image, there was true liberation portrayed in magazine images and in our lives. Schools taught identity confidence and personal styling, educating young people to live in this world.
What if …
all styling of images was with second hand and upcycled clothes which leads to the values of fashion being turned upside down?
Issue targeted:
the influence of styling on consumption
Inspiration:
having worked as stylist and always having bought second hand
This World was contributed by Victoria Coutts (located in Malvern, UK) using a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International licence which allows others to share and adapt the work in any medium and for any purpose, providing that they credit the author and share their material using the same Creative Commons licence.
Related Explorations
Response to World 24
Jess Cartner-Morley wears pieces from her own wardrobe along with new items for her Saturday Guardian fashion column.
https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2021/mar/12/time-to-liberate-yourself-from-puffer-jacket-and-be-frivolous-again
– Suzanne Rowland
Does this World remind you of something?
I am keen to hear about any historical or contemporary real-world examples – whether individual practices, subcultures or mainstream activities – that this fiction brings to mind.
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