Earthy, boxy, boring: Do sustainable clothes have a standard look?

A week ago, when Vogue India's fashion and e-commerce editor, Rujuta Vaidya, approached me about writing a story on the predicable aesthetics of sustainable fashion, I was intrigued to say the least. And my first thought was: does conscious fashion fit a specific mould? Close your eyes and imagine an item of sustainable clothing. What do you see? The picture that came to my mind was that of a loose-fitting dress in cream, made out of handwoven fabric with the tiniest touch of hand embroidery at the edges. I was honestly surprised at my own stereotypical perceptions of sustainable fashion, even though I know I have seen cases that have showcased very unique elements.

While I acknowledge there are exceptions, a fair amount of slow fashion is restricted to a neutral or earthy colour palette (white, beige, indigo, black, salmon pink), has loose or boxy cuts and follows a distinctly minimal aesthetic. I spent some time digging deeper into this phenomenon and asking conscious designers, sustainable bloggers and upcycled clothing makers if they also thought this was true.

I did find some who agreed with the idea in principal, while others upheld a different opinion. “Sadly, apparel produced by sustainable clothing labels in India does look similar,” says Shivangini Parihar, creative director at The Summer House, a slow fashion label. “Most of us have similar aesthetics but I do think that this is changing.” On the other hand, Vincent Declety, founder of Ahmedabad-based Indigenous Industries, a company that produces sustainable clothing for international brands like Galleries Lafayette in France and Matter Prints in Singapore, disagrees that new-age sustainable clothing fits into a certain mould. “This may have been the case 10 years ago, but today you can find sustainable fashion in all styles. For instance, we produce sports shorts for a label using recycled polyester, but you cannot tell that the item has been conceived with sustainability in mind just by looking at it.”

Despite these inconsistencies in expert opinion, a few key factors did come up repeatedly in my conversations, which can provide some explanation about the consistent look of conscious clothing.

The philosophy behind slow fashion

By its very definition, slow fashion is the opposite of fast fashion. Instead of dropping by Zara and H&M every week to pick up trendy items like animal print slacks and off-shoulder dresses, the idea is to buy fewer, quality pieces that you will want to wear for a long time. This is probably why neutral-coloured, simple basics become the clothing of choice among sustainability patrons—they're versatile, timeless and will be treasured in your wardrobe for much longer than any others. This also explains the tendency for so many sustainable clothing labels to create simple, white, black and beige clothing. “While slow fashion celebrates every process and minute elements involved in making an item, fast fashion hangs onto introducing more and more pieces with total disregard to the process,” explains Bengaluru- and Atlanta-based responsible fashion blogger, Swati Dixit. “I do agree that there are some restrictions when it comes to fabrics, colours and designs being adopted by sustainable brands. But I find the whole idea of ‘trendy' clothing very subjective. If you ask me, I find a basic white shirt and a pair of denims very stylish and classic. I'd rather opt for a style that's comfortable, timeless and resonating with my personality, than something that's ‘trendy' and poorly made.”

How many of you have heard of the 10X10 challenge on Instagram? Lee Vosburg, founder of sustainable fashion blog Style Bee, started this viral social experiment, where users pick a capsule collection of 10 clothing and footwear items from their own wardrobe and use only those for 10 days (they are, however, allowed to accessorise with additional hats, bags and jewellery). The rules of the challenge force people to take a deep, hard look at their style choices and consumerist tendencies. You can be rest assured that a lot of those capsule wardrobes will feature neutral-coloured basics within them.

Raw materials

Another obvious difference between fast and slow fashion is the use of responsibly-produced, natural fabrics like cotton, silk and wool, which have no give as opposed to lycra and polyester, which have in-built elasticity. This naturally speaks to the tendency of conscious clothing being roomy or boxy, instead of having fitted and cinched silhouettes. Besides this, one also needs to consider if the sustainable fabric is handwoven or factory-produced, because the width of a handwoven fabric will only be as long as the weaver's arms. Thus, if a designer wants to support India's traditional weaver communities while still creating inclusive sizing in their collections, he or she has to find creative ways of designing clothing with a cut or joint running through the centre. Ironically, this could create more similarities in the way garments are cut and tailored.

Environmentally-safe processes

One of the most harmful by-products of producing apparel is the chemical dyes that get released into the environment. The counter solution employed by multiple conscious clothing labels is to use vegetable dyes instead which are made of natural ingredients and aren't harmful to the planet. This plays into the specific colour palette usually seen in slow fashion clothing. “Natural dyes won't come in flashy or neon shades,” says Declety. “You'll get a warm colour palette to work with. It's not possible to do micro prints (less than 1mm) with natural dyes, which is a big drawback.”

Most importantly, in a single collection, it's usually too expensive to produce more than four or five different colours, so you have to work with a limited shades, or costs escalate. Thus, you'll notice that many sustainable fashion labels tend to have numerous styles, but a limited amount of print and colour options—and those too in earthy tones of mustard, beige, indigo, etc.

Breaking the mould

So does that mean you need to quash your inner Lady Gaga if you are a sustainable fashion consumer? Not necessarily. “India eventually is not a minimal country,” says Parihar. “While we may appreciate minimalism, and there will always be a niche crowd that always stays true to it, the fact is that we love our colours, we love our flamboyance. Who are we without that? We had a lot of whites when we first started The Summer House label, but today we have consciously introduced colours and prints using azo-free dyes. At the end, it is a business, and to dream really big in India, you need to cater to people's style.”

Another fascinating aspect is the role technology is going to play in creating new raw materials and building eco-friendly production processes—and this could completely transform the look of sustainable fashion. Salvatore Ferragamo, for one, made news for using fabric being made out of waste orange and peels from the juice pressing industry in his creations. “There are a lot of new age fabrics being developed from food waste,” says Declety, who's at the forefront of sustainable fashion technology in India. “There's pineapple leather, which is a great replacement for the real thing; bean fibre is making a lot of noise—it's made out of the leftovers from tofu and soy sauce. Even in Tamil Nadu and Kerala there are people experimenting with indigenous plants like bowstring hemp to make new fibres.”

Buying vintage or pre-worn clothing is another way to be shop consciously without compromising on your own style. “I love investing in pre-loved vintage pieces—the nostalgia and mystery around their journey is too interesting to resist,” says Dixit. “If you can shop from an already existing pile, it not only takes off a notable amount of burden on the environment, it also adds an element of individuality to your wardrobe. Also, vintage pieces are of far superior quality than their shoddily-made fast fashion counterparts.”

Don't know where to find sustainable fashion? I Was A Sari is a non-profit organisation that uses pre-loved saris to make accessories, beachwear and more. In Mumbai, the No Borders shop in Khotachiwadi, Girgaon, has a great collection of vintage clothing including Hermès scarves and vintage denim jackets upcycled by Péro. Sustainable clothing may veer towards beige-toned basics, but those with a will, will always find a way of expressing their personal style without compromising on ethics.