6 minute read
Waste - But Make It FASHION
WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY VIKTORIA BIELAWA
An innovator, an entrepreneur, and a force for change to the capitalistic fashion system - Olivia Weber rolls up her sleeves to make it her mission to constitute an industry to be more inclusive, sustainable, and just for all women.
With a motion of gliding scissors through patterned fabrics and the smell of white chalk in the air, six women worked tirelessly by their allocated table spaces, measuring tapes hanging from around their necks - barely noticing my presence. Olivia welcomed me into her humble factory setting, introducing me to the six diligent women who were consumed by their own process of production.
Defining herself as “an inclusive feminist”, Olivia Webber has been a force for change within her neighbourhood in Walthamstow. The founder and creative director of Trashion Factory, provides free upskilling workshops dedicated to supporting women and singlemothers from low-income backgrounds, giving them the opportunity to find employment with their newly learnt sustainable craftsmanship skills in the demanding fashion industry.
Before her solo endeavour, Olivia was part of a trio - JOA (Julia, Olivia, Anna). “We started JOA together,” she explains, “[but] then COVID happened, which made us rethink the way we make, where we live, and how close we are to the people we love”. Olivia’s former partners decided to go back to their home countries, to be closer to their family - yet for Olivia, London was her newly-found home and she wasn’t about to give up on her passion of the brand and community engagement.
The sentimental service sprung from loosing her late aunt to cancer a few years ago, who was like a second-mother to Olivia. Unwilling to part with her belongings, she decided to bring them back to life through merging together different items to form new designs, rather than have them stored away in a box at her parent’s house.
The trio graduated from London College of Fashion, where they met and created the brand - winning them the Enterprise Challenge Award in 2019. Their ethos was (and still is) about using unwanted clothing and re-purposing them into personalised bomber jackets, through zero waste and upcycling of materials, whilst involving the local community alongside the process.
Running different workshops throughout the year (lasting 6-10 weeks each), Olivia’s students have a true opportunity to learn different craft skills; through pattern cutting and sawing to kimono designing, eventually involving them in Trashion Factory’s branded t-shirt production and design, where the chosen designs will give profits to the creator from each sold item. “I try to involve them in as many opportunities as possible,” Olivia explains, “nurturing this factory of kindness and support system.”
Besides providing her students with life-long skills of craftsmanship, Olivia educates them on the matters of sustainability and upcycling materials, creating a sustainable craftsmanship from the start.“It's interesting how its actually quite an easily available material,” she explains, “once you know what you're doing.”
Through gathering excess materials from warehouses and reusing unwanted fabrics from friends and family, Olivia created a stable and sustainable business model for her brand that is truly beneficial for the environment and the local community. Being tired of the so-called ‘craftsmanship’ many companies identify as, Olivia explains that in reality “it’s just constant producing and manufacturing”. Many luxury and fast-fashion corporations define themselves as ‘craftsmen’, yet their garments are produced in factories overseas in overwhelming quantities by workers. “I find craft to be people making things” she says, “not seeing them as human machines or just being another piece of machinery.”
The realities of the fashion industry are no secret to anyone - worker exploitation, hazardous chemicals dumped into drinking rivers, slave labour; are just to name the few. “There’s so much going on in our society that’s illegal,” says Olivia, “and the people know about it, the state knows about it, and they don’t do anything.” That’s why, designers like Olivia, have had to create their own sustainable structure of the new and improved fashion future that puts planet and people first to make a change in the system.
The fair treatment of workers and using true craftsmanship in her designs; the price of the garment is inevitably raised to cover all the ethical labour used in production. “I always try to keep my prices down as much as possible,” Olivia explains, “because I don’t want to feed into this capitalising system, where only the very wealthy people can afford craftsmanship”.
As a designer, Olivia doesn’t have experience working for major manufacturers or designers to which she sees a huge benefit. Established designers and fashion houses are sceptical to change, and they don’t realise there may be other options of production that are more sustainable and beneficial. “The design houses and manufacturing are so separate,” she says, “[it] seems to be the common problem where designers are not taking enough responsibility.”
Being a strong advocate for sustainability, Olivia is conscious about her clothing habits. We, as consumers, are so used to buying excess amounts of cheap garments; whether it be due to sales, or simply being bored with our current wardrobes. “The hardest thing I find is not falling into the trap of the system,” she explains, but for Olivia, it primarily comes down to a shift of perspective and appreciation of what you already have.
“I see my clothes almost as people”, she says. “I’ve had some of them for so many years, that I have a wardrobe full of memories.” She emphasises to trying to establish relationships with the clothing you already have, and if you really feel for adding something new to your current wardrobe - ideally, to buy second-hand. “What I find sad at the moment, is that all brands create very similar things,” she says, “and that’s why so many items are thrown away - because it’s not interesting or doesn’t fit right.”
The beauty of buying vintage or upcycled clothing from sites like Depop, is the personalisation and range of style from various fashion eras; those iconic flared jeans from the 70s, that altered bomber jacket from the 90s that’s a bit more current, or that pair of Dr. Marten’s that you’ve wanted for so long, but couldn’t afford. Instead of being thrown away, the items are repurposed and find a new home; allowing for a circular fashion system.
The constant production of new collections, repetitiveness, and endless seasons contribute to the ‘throw-away culture’ we have succumbed to. “Its not made for the diversity of human beings we have on our planet”, Olivia explains. We are not all made of identical physiques, each of us is completely different from one aspect to the other, for instance; the length of our torso, or the waist-tohip ratio, our breast shape - so why are we letting fashion companies treat us like we’re all one person? “I’m hoping that in the future, there’s going to be loads of different sizes, designs, style, and diversity,” says Olivia, “a very colourful future.”
