Take Five is the latest from AND I’VE BEEN SAYING THAT, and the first guest feature! These posts will spotlight internet friends & inspirations in the eco-fashion space, detailing what you should know about them and what their 5 favorite environmentally-conscious things are at the moment. I’ll also share where you can find them and/or their work x
Happy Friday everyone! I’m absolutely ecstatic about what I’m putting in your inbox this weekend so I will waste no time getting down to business. As I mentioned above, I’m bringing you a guest feature series that I hope will help you collect more founts of knowledge in this space, because we’re stronger when we come together.
My first guest is Sacha Daly, a sustainable fashion writer advocating for an ethical, reformed fashion system through storytelling. We met in London as social media ambassadors for fashtech app Whering back in 2022, and it has been incredible to watch Sacha flourish in the time since!
While studying for an MA in Sustainable Fashion, she founded a non-profit magazine looking to reform the fashion system by platforming the stories and voices of individuals + communities who are learning and/or practicing slow fashion. Since graduating, Sacha moved to Jodhpur, Rajasthan (India) where she’s been living for 5 months, working as a center manager of a female social enterprise called Saheli Women, economically empowering women in rural India through ethical fashion partnerships. She is absolutely doing some of the coolest work right now (do we all drop everything and move to India to work with artisans?), and I’m honored to have her thoughtful and considered approach to fashion detailed below.
What are the key departures you’ve experienced between Western fashion and South Asian fashion?
Indian fashion is so incredibly vibrant. Everywhere you look, there is a rainbow of rich, beautiful fabrics with unique patterns and motifs. The fashion here is such a deep-rooted part of the cultural heritage… everything people wear has inherent value, so rather than being deemed ‘fashionable’ it is meaningful and valuable — this is something that is really lacking in Western fashion. The rapid rise of fast fashion has made clothing ‘disposable’ in the West, [whereas in India] it is a wearable piece of art, with intricate embellishments, prints and patterns that have demanded time and embody history.
What do you wish more people knew about slow fashion, based on your work with Saheli Women?
It’s not just about consuming clothes from an ethical brand for a higher price — this still leaves room for a disconnect between the consumer and the story behind clothing. Slow fashion is about making that reconnection and understanding value in the craft. Every day I am seeing diverse voices and stories with shining personalities [present in each stitch of the garments they make].
I also wish people could see the transformative potential of female empowerment within slow fashion; this is something I am witnessing with my work at Saheli Women. Women and sustainability go hand-in-hand, yet in sustainable fashion narratives the work of women in the Global South is often undervalued.
SACHA’S FIVE FAVORITES
The World is on Fire But We’re Still Buying Shoes by Alec Leach.
Ryann’s note: he is also on Substack!! Find him here.
“A really powerful manifesto about our consumption habits, and how/why we need to start forming more intentional relationships with our clothes!”
Anything from her mum’s wardrobe
“Since I was younger, I have religiously worn my mum’s clothes that she has owned since she was in her twenties herself, and cherished and worn for the past 30 years. I’ve brought one of her knitted button-down tops to India with me— no matter what season or where I am, it is always a staple in my wardrobe.”
Hemp clogs
Likely sourced from Wolf & Gypsy — waterproof and recyclable!
“Last year I purchased a pair of clogs that have been made from recycled plastic and hemp and I absolutely love them!”
A natural dyed & eco-printed bag made by Saheli Women artisans.
“It’s a beautiful, vibrantly dyed bag with prints from marigold and English rose petals. I really love anything naturally dyed, that has worked in a harmonious relationship with nature and can also give back to the earth, rather than extract-and-exploit. Each eco-oriented piece is completely unique and its pattern is derived from how the petals are scattered, which is why I love the technique so much.”
Anything connected to artisanship and something that withholds a social narrative, looking to empower the people in the value chain. Brands like Casa Nushki, who is a female-led brand working directly with artisans in Morocco and Mexico, creating beautiful garments that weave a story of cultural heritage and empowerment.
Everyone jump to the comments and say THANK YOU to this angel!!! And, of course, let me know your thoughts about anything Sacha covered and/or who else you’d like to see featured.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND SACHA
IG: http://www.instagram.com/sachadaly
Saheli Women: https://saheliwomen.com
Re:Form magazine: Http://www.instagram.com/re.formmagazine
Ryann x
ICYMI
Last month, y’all really engaged with Girlhood is a Double-Edged Sword and Little Treats. Thank you!! Sometimes you don’t know what is going to resonate until you pry it away from your chest and out in the open.
UP NEXT
You’re getting another Vibe Check at the end of next week with some additional media I’d like to draw your attention to. We will become a little eco-hive mind.
Penciling in your schedule a post about outfit formulas… things that are the same thing different font that you don’t have to really think through when you get dressed. I’m calling it Go-Togethers.
love this! also just discovered Alec Leach through the cutting room floor pod, it’s a great listen: https://www.patreon.com/posts/84220122?utm_campaign=postshare_fan