In World 30, fashion magazines are dominated by activism and small business. The barrier to entry for design has been lowered and everyone has the opportunity to make clothes they like. Models pose alongside banks of public sewing machines and depop sellers are hotlisted for the most desirable looks. Sewing influencers storm YouTube and TikTok, remodelling and reusing second-hand clothes. As a result, rare and exotic plant species are thriving and rivers run their natural colour, unpolluted by mass dye factories. Clothes are now embellished with sentimental items: childhood toys, meaningful gifts, hobby items, or things that have always been there for you. These clothes are more unique and give a sense of familiarity, companionship – like a trip down memory lane so these clothes are cherished. Every garment starts a conversation and it is easy to make like-minded friends by simply looking at the design items on an individual’s garment.
This Exploration was contributed by Joanna Teixidor Hartley, Taojiang Jia, Qijun Chen, Tingyu Huang and Emma Jones (located in the UK, Spain and China), developed from a World contributed by Becca Warner, 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 authors and share their material using the same Creative Commons licence.
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.
Please share any such examples using this form. Thank you!