What an amazing few weeks are behind me.

I was able to share the sustainable fashion message at three different opportunities, the Great Glenorchy Getaway hosted by Camp Glenorchy  (which I incidentally recently wrote an article about) and at the One Summit Festival of Sustainability held in Queenstown and Wanaka.

The highlight was co-hosting the One Summit Fashion Revolution talk with the talented and inspiring personal stylist Trudie Millar at ‘home’ in Queenstown, to an audience of around 50 engaged and enthusiastic guests.

Our talk was, I think, unique because it was a collaboration of two very different experiences and knowledge bases. Trudie is a personal stylist, who has become interested through her love of vintage and pre-loved clothing in the sustainable fashion model and circular thinking. I, myself, am a journalist and academic with a particular interest in sustainable fashion, and I might say now – it turns out – a bit of an expert. But I certainly couldn’t give you tips on how to style yourself!

For those of you who couldn’t make it, here are my 9 top tips/learnings from the talk.

1. Sustainable fashion is growing and there are loads of cool Kiwi brands to shape your style with.
2. It isn’t more expensive if you change the consumption model – buy quality over quantity, chose according to your style, think longevity…
3. Certified organic cotton is awesome – It’s ethically made, environmentally sound and great for the budget because it lasts and looks/feels great for much longer.
4. Capsule wardrobes are great to hone your style, minimise early morning ‘what to wear’ conundrums, and give yourself the space to see creativity. That’s a combined Fred/Trudie tip!!
5. A long sleeved denim shirt makes a great jacket, says Trudie. It’s true! I’ve used that tip already. A long wrap dress or short dress makes a great kimono!! Genius!
6. Colours are key to making your outfit pop. Trudie really educated the audience on colour palattes and not being scared of colour or pattern.
7. Quality over quantity is the top tip. Want to consume less but look great, then quality clothing is a great investment, we both say.
8. Love the clothes you have, and love other people’s too!! Pre-loved clothing is such a simple solution to buying less and more at the same time. It prevents landfill waste, is unique to you, and costs less.
9. We all clothe ourselves, so let’s take a moment to think about who made those clothes, what they’re made of, and what we like about them.

The fashion show was great, and an absolute highlight was Peri Drysdale, founder of Untouched World, talking about the brand journey and being a female Kiwi trying to make it on the world fashion stage in the 80s and 90s, when ‘sustainable fashion’ wasn’t really a thing. Incredible!! I’m looking forward to writing more about Peri.

ReCreate, Thunderpants, Duffle & Co also came on board for the fashion show and give-aways at both Sherwood and Lakes Wanaka Centre, the two venues.

It was fun, inspiring and a truly beautiful thing to share the message. Trudie and I had a final message that’ll I’ll share now. Small change is all that’s needed. Small changes encourage more small change which becomes big change. It’s the ripple effect. Something small can become huge.

…Go and make ripples…