I’ve been meaning to start this blog since moving to New York City almost two years ago. With my two year anniversary coming up next week, and high on New Year’s resolutions I decided to get this thing off the ground.
Why I want to write this blog:
I bought my one-way ticket to New York City with the goal of becoming an ethical fashion pioneer and revolutionize the industry, sounds easy right? Since arriving I’ve gotten caught up in the fashion start-up non-stop grind, worked temp jobs at large fashion corporations, and am about to start a production job at a menswear brand in midtown. A little bit of everything. I’d like to use this place to step back and see what others are doing in the industry and ruminate on ideas of how to move forward as a more conscious and empathetic industry, and also possibly tell some funny fashion industry stories or give some advice here and there.
A bit about me:
I have always loved clothes. Growing up in Japan, I loved to see the new and creative ways people chose to express themselves. Sadly I wasn’t always the most thoughtful shopper, my mom can attest to that. Every year I wanted a new wardrobe. Once I stopped growing, I couldn’t understand why I couldn’t just throw out everything I was bored of and get new and shiny ones. It was a shameful time.
My first real epiphany of the extant of my consumerist brainwashing came in graduate school. I studied Japanese Tantric Buddhism for three years and it forced me to be introspective on my own material driven behavior, it stopped me dead in my tracks. I wanted to learn more about the inner workings of the fashion industry and started reading books like Naked Fashion by Safia Minney, and Sustainable Fashion and Textiles by Kate Fletcher, among others. I felt guilty for even stepping into stores like H&M and Forever21. My friends thought I had lost it, and didn’t understand why I was being so picky about where my clothes were made. I became so paralyzed by how little I knew about the supply chain of the clothes I was wearing. Without a budget to afford higher quality sustainable clothing, I started my own upcycling brand and committed to buying only from Goodwill for a year – I’m sure there will be a post about this at some point 😉
This experience launched me into my ethical fashion journey, and eventually led me to where I am today in Bushwick writing this post. I’m excited to have you along on this continued celebration of well-made, conscious and inspiring design.