# taz.de -- Guilty Fashion: Call Me Captain Lycra | |
> Like a moth to the flame, I am attracted to anything that shines, | |
> sequins, vinyl, and any number of polymers. | |
Bild: Sheep, not fashion | |
I have often been the champion of lost causes. Take fashion pollution, for | |
instance. I like to think of myself as a “slow fashion“ hero in a | |
fast-fashion world. Before I bore you with all the unfathomable figures one | |
can read about elsewhere (that the fashion industry is either number 2 or 3 | |
behind the oil industry, yes, really) let me just count myself among the | |
many Dr Evils out there. I’m the worst polluter, I admit it. Maybe not THE | |
WORST, but bad. I cannot bring myself to stop shopping, let alone wear only | |
bio-degradable fabrics. | |
After watching [1][Alex James’s incredible film], Slowing Down Fast | |
Fashion, and his solutions to stopping it (buy wool! it can be buried and | |
dissolves within 3 months!), I went through my closet with disgust. | |
Look at this [2][film made about my closet] many moons ago. I’m wearing | |
anything and everything manmade. Like a moth attracted to the flame, | |
anything that shines, sequins, vinyl, and any number of polymers used to | |
make that fantastic Miu Miu coat. | |
Of the wool items I own, only a few of which are 100% wool, most are | |
already in the process of bio-degrading. The moths are fast in this town. | |
That’s it: I’ve found my scapegoat. The moths, in the end, are the | |
promoters of fast fashion. My hands are tied. | |
But then there are the many items they turn their noses up at: the blends, | |
wool plus poly-something. Let me spell that out for you if you haven’t seen | |
Alex James’s film: it means that that shit will not dissolve, ashes to | |
ashes, EVER. | |
So one could make the pledge, “Never ever will I buy anything other than | |
100% wool,“ and feel smug and smart and heroic. Captain Lamm to the rescue. | |
Buy only wool and, here’s the best part in doing my part to help | |
capitalism: I will always have a need to shop unless I want to walk around | |
looking like Swiss cheese. | |
This feeling lasts for a week. (Maybe it’s been two.) I go to stores and | |
leave empty handed having kept x-number of blendy items out of my shopping | |
cart. | |
In the end, I cannot bear the idea of life without lycra or lurex. | |
Solidgold, after all, is my middle name! (One word. Really. You gotta give | |
it to the Queen Mum for having a sense of humor.) | |
Sure, I can resell things on Kleiderkreisel.de making them not my problem | |
anymore, or I can donate them to the [3][Red Cross]. But what kills me, | |
what makes me feel non-heroic is my need for more, which is unquellable! | |
The answer? Vintage? | |
To be continued…. | |
6 Mar 2018 | |
## LINKS | |
[1] https://www.amazon.com/Alex-James-Slowing-Down-Fashion/dp/B01IDQPULG | |
[2] http://hey-woman.com/2016/closet-diaries-april-von-stauffenberg/ | |
[3] https://www.harpersbazaar.de/fashion/alte-kleidung-recycling | |
## AUTOREN | |
April Lamm | |
## TAGS | |
Fashion | |
Fast Fashion | |
taz international | |
Aldi | |
taz international | |
Fashion | |
## ARTIKEL ZUM THEMA | |
The soccer scarf invades high fashion: The ultimate anti-brand brand | |
When Balenciaga does a soccer scarf advertising Aldi it brings a fresh | |
breeze into the air de Paris, the air of the left with the wallet of the | |
right. | |
Dernier cri of autumn/winter season 2017: The right shoe on the left foot | |
Learning from New York Fashion Week: Make Wrong Right Again. | |
The renaissance of socks: Hand-knitted by the Queen | |
Gucci socks at 190 euro, Alexander McQueen socks for 245 euro – the sock | |
inflation brought us socks for the 1%. Or actually, they're accessoires. |