Passion for Trashion

By Gordon Tanuvasa

From rubbish to runways, it is the modern rags to riches, but not just another Cinderella story of the 21st Century. Trashion is not an ephemeral trend, but an overlooked lifestyle of the future. Waste is an opportunity for creatives alike to reimagine sustainability of the ecosphere like never before. Why do I believe that trashion is the key to future sustainability of the ecosphere? Before I reveal my divination, let me arouse you with a contextual depiction of the definition and beneficial significance of this ideation.

What even is trashion? According to Macmillan Dictionary [25], it is “a term used for fashion items and objects which are created from used, thrown-out and recycled elements. A blend of the words ‘trash’ and ‘fashion’.” This portmanteau was first stimulated in New Zealand 2004, for the Trusts’ Trash to Fashion Awards and later garnered fruition throughout the world in 2005 [26].

How I gained a fad interest in this topic was through photographer Fabrice Monteiro and fashion designer Jah Gal’s The Prophecy, a series of widespread environmental catastrophes depicted in the African country [27]. The images portrayed Jah Gal’s aesthetically pleasing and intricately designed garments made from waste and surplus in an intriguingly beautiful array of disaster. While Monteiro captured the models with the stature of a warrior battling through these degraded landscapes with life and death movements throughout the pieces. They cohesively conveyed a plea for change and a call to action for the future generations around the world to withstand and fight for the wellbeing of the environment.

With trends and fads rapidly changing from season to season especially in today’s evolving technological society, consumers are consuming more and more quickly than ever before. Eileen Fisher, a fashion entrepreneur and environmental award winner stated that “The clothing industry is the second largest polluter in the world...second to only oil,” [28]. Implementing forethoughts into the minds of consumers, on how we consume clothing and what we are actually consuming. We ourselves are a major factor to why the waste in the fashion industry is frantically escalating.

The complex process of making a single garment amasses to a tremendous environmental footprint due to the combination of pollutants and demand on natural resources. That is why Trashion Fashion [29] an American based organisation, is enthusiastic about “changing the way the world sees waste.” Their mission is to support creative designers in thinking laterally about their perspective on waste and sustainable design approaches, while decreasing mass waste in the world.

Now to expose why trashion is the future for a better sustainable world and reveal my prophecy. Trashion can limit waste by repurposing items and re-evolving them into useful artefacts that can be a catalyst for alternate production methods while enhancing the message for a quality and sustainable future. By contributing to this movement, the notion of waste and its damaging effects to the environment can be an ephemera of the past.

[25] Macmillandictionary. (2016). Trashion Definition And Synonyms. Retrieved 31 August 2016, from http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/trashion

[26] Thread. (2004). Turn Your Trash Into Trashion. Retrieved 30 August 2016, from http://threadnz.com/fashion/fashion-shows/turn-your-trash-into-trashion/

[27] Ecouterre. (2016). Haunting “Trashion” Gowns Illustrate Senegal’s Pollution Problem. Retrieved 1 September 2016, fromhttp://www.ecouterre.com/haunting-trashion-gowns-illustrate-senegals-pollution- problem/

[28] AlterNet. (2016). It’s the Second Dirtiest Thing in the World—And You’re Wearing It. Retrieved 31 August 2016, from http://www.alternet.org/environment/its-second-dirtiest-thing-world-and-youre-wearing-it

[29] Trashion Fashion. (2016). Home. Retrieved 30 August 2016, from http://www.trashionfashion.org/