Unpacking the Wardrobe: Discourses around Sustainability in the Local South African Fashion Industry

Abstract

The fashion business is a major economic force with far-reaching consequences for individuals, societies, and the environment. Traditional fashion techniques, on the other hand, have been linked to worker exploitation, waste generation, and environmental deterioration, among other issues. This study is interested in understanding how sustainability and sustainable fashion is practised and discussed within the local, South African fashion industry. The findings resulted in the proposal of sustainable fashion as a new field within the larger field of fashion. A new field that is able to challenge the standards, norms, and values of the traditional fashion industry, while creating new opportunities for agents to establish themselves as legitimate players in the fashion industry and gain access to new forms of capital that emerge from environmentally and socially responsible practices. The research data was collected through in-depth phenomenological interviews with eight participants all employed by VIVIERS Studio. In addition, participant-observation was applied to provide rich ethnographic detail and data on the inner workings and practice of sustainability within the sustainable luxury studio. This resulted in the identification of numerous sustainability-centred garment production practices. These include practices such as sourcing deadstock fabrics, instilling a circular approach to waste sorting and disposal during garment production by recycling waste and reusing fabric cut-offs in new collections. In addition, the research identifies individuals such as the influential eco-kin who form part of the new field as established and newcomer agents and practices such as lifestyle change that display the relations and values within the field of sustainable fashion. Ultimately, the research’s suggestion of a new field of sustainable fashion provides future researchers with the opportunity to investigate the implications of migration, class, and gender exploitation in areas such as pay, sustainable garment affordability and career advancement within the field.