With Australian Fashion Week currently underway, fashion commentators such as Bernadette Olivier (lead photo) of The Volte are sharing concerns of ‘fast fashion’ copies flooding the market following debuts of designs on the catwalk.
Olivier, who is the co-founder of luxury dress platform The Volte, says cheap, mass produced copies appear in global chains at a fraction of the cost within weeks of big fashion events such as Melbourne Fashion Festival.
“What people don’t realise is that faux couture, or fast fashion – a model based on clothing being disposable – is unethical and unsustainable,” says Ms Olivier.
“Designers like Stella McCartney, and Australian labels Zimmermann, Aje and Alemais have pioneered changing out-dated environmental practices. However, fast fashion can’t adapt – that business model simply does not work with slow textiles, well paid manufacturing and making clothes that last.”
Olivier believes that one of the key points consumers should be aware of when considering purchasing fast fashion is that the garments are not ‘inspired’ by the outfits seen during fashion events, but rather a direct breach of copyright surrounding an industry that has been hemorrhaged by the pandemic.
She also pointed out the links between the fast fashion industry and modern-day slavery, and highlighted the impacts the industry is having on climate change and the environment, particularly in countries like Australia and the US.
“Despite many of us with good intentions of passing these garments to charity shops or donating them, the majority end up in landfill either here or overseas,” she pointed out.
“Fast fashion is now the second-largest contributor to CO2 emissions, second only to the oil industry. While we all worry about offsetting our carbon footprint when we fly, your luggage is actually causing more harm than the plane.”
The Volte is a creation of Oliviers, along with her friends Kym Atkins, Genevieve Hohnen and Jade Hirniak, who saw a gap in the market and sought to offer luxury fashion at an affordable price.
The Volte allows individuals to purchase designer dresses and accessories, and then list them for sharing, with many lenders earning between $50,000 and $100,000 a year renting out their designer wardrobe.
“A large percentage of The Volte lenders are millennials and Generation Z consumers who now only purchase designer fashion firstly because they know at the very least it will be cost-neutral, and secondly because they know that these garments are made ethically and are made to last and bring joy for more than one outing and then be tossed in the bin,” says Ms Olivier.
