Fashion Reimagined and Other Ways to Save the Planet — Cultural Digest #2
A must-see movie and a Good News broadcast
In 2017 fashion designer Amy Powney, the Creative Director of luxury womenswear brand Mother of Pearl, won Young Designer of The Year along with £100,000 prize money, at the British Fashion Council and Vogue’s, Designer Fashion Fund awards. She pledged to reinvest that money back into the company to transform her business into an entirely sustainable and ethical designer brand — from field to finished garment. Becky Hutner, a documentary filmmaker, began following Amy and her team as they embarked on this journey. Five years later, Fashion Reimagined is the result. And all you need to do is bring it to the tippety-top of your must-see watch-lists.
The first time I watched Fashion Reimagined I marvelled at the ingenuity and persistence of Amy and her then Product Development Manager, Chloe Marks (she has since become the company’s Brand Manager), who despite repeatedly coming up against the infuriating and seemingly immovable infrastructures of the clothing industrial complex, somehow, somehow, managed to stay energised and focused enough to find a way through.
Travelling the world, problem-solving together, the documentary is part buddy movie, part hero’s journey, complete with its own dark night of the soul as solutions worked impossibly hard for, fall by the wayside and dissolve to nothing at the eleventh hour. Who will come to their aid? Who can they convince to work alongside them? Will they get it all done in time?
Amy also gave birth to two children in the midst of all this. The first, a daughter, appears at the end of the documentary but her second, a son has come along during its edit. Since watching the film I have sought out every interview, profile and reference to Amy Powney and Mother of Pearl that I can find (there’s a LOT out there, this movement’s got legs to rival Naomi Campbell’s) though I finally got to meet her in person this week and she every bit, lived up to the hype. She is a trailblazing rockstar of change — for the greater good of the planet, and us all. Her ethos feels so effortlessly and necessarily prescient.
The second time I watched Fashion Reimagined it was Becky Hutner’s filmmaking that I marvelled at.
Remember those 102 films I watched at the end of 2022? Well no less than 24 of them were documentaries. Fashion Reimagined was easily one of the standouts but it was only whilst watching it again that I realised how much I’d taken Becky’s filmmaking for granted. And the fluency with which the narrative of the film flows. You know when people make something incredibly challenging look easy?
Documentaries don’t necessarily lend themselves very well to a traditional linear structure. It has be teased out from (usually) hundreds of hours of footage and then seamlessly threaded back together. Simply mapping things out chronologically doesn’t always make for the most dynamic and captivating of watches. Much like Attenborough’s team, documentary makers require the patience of saints and have to keep the cameras rolling whilst they stealthily track their subjects in the hope of capturing something of the dramatic or at least, some unfolding that can eventually contribute to a story. It’s a pretty thankless task given that documentaries take years to make and are some of the most under-funded projects in the film business — though they are some of the most widely watched due in part to their enormously broad appeal. In recent years they have also become one of the most fiercely competitive categories at all the major awards events — Fashion Reimagined itself premiered at Tribeca and has been selected and recognised at a huge number of others. Documentaries further provide a genuine service of education — if made well they’ll teach you as much in 90 minutes as you could learn in 90 hours worth of lectures on the same subject. They’re not generally something I rewatch because if you’ve stayed until the end, then the subject matter tends to stay with you - I’m thinking most recently of OJ: Made In America or The Last Dance. But I didn’t hesitate when I was invited to watch Fashion Reimagined again. It felt urgent and necessary and at the spearhead of a movement I want to be a part of.
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It would be so easy to overwhelm the audience with the amount of information needing to be conveyed about the (fascinating) machinations of the fashion industry, some aspects of which I have never even considered before, but it is so deftly presented that contrary to any of it getting lost during the course of the film, the facts you are presented with, stick. My favourite one being that at any one time it is estimated that at least 50% of the planet is wearing some form of denim. I’m wearing some now as I write this. I imagine many of you reading this are too. On the flip side of that of course, we learn that it takes 1,500 litres of water to make just one pair of jeans — the equivalent of one human’s drinking water for two years. Gulp.
I really don’t want to say much more than that. To share some of the other facts, just as well burned onto my retinas, I honestly think might undermine the craftsmanship of Becky Hutner’s work, and the impact that the information has in the context that you receive it within the film. In perfect attunement with Mother of Pearl’s understated, timeless and chic as all hell classic designs, it is a total but quiet, revelation. Oh and shoutout to Philip France’s incredible score. Did I mention that you must see it? Yep. And I’d argue less so if you wear clothes but if you buy clothes, you MUST see it.
The best bit about it all though is that Amy, Chloe, and Becky (and I’m sure many other people besides) have done all the work for us, all we have to do is watch the story unfold and be given the answers. Seriously the amount of heavy lifting the film does and the clarity with which it is presented is truly remarkable and carries with it an extremely positive message. In fact somehow it is in no way judgemental or preachy (how they have achieved this, I really, I just, I’m in awe). I can guarantee you will come away feeling galvanised, with hope in your heart and (my favourite) — with tangible, simple, practical solutions that you can actually apply in your own life to pay forward the lessons you’ve taken away with you.
Also when you watch this film, you will see that there are people out there as well as Amy, determined to make the changes so desperately needed to ensure humanity’s survival through the climate crisis, and they are getting it done. At no one’s behest but their own by the way, and yet, on all of our behalves.
On that note I also wanted to point anyone who’s interested toward some awesome people/ accounts who I refer to as my Good News broadcasters. The ones who are sharing positive climate news and solutions from around the world and are reliable sources of information. I think it’s so important to be aware of these small wins no matter how tiny, if only to educate myself, be inspired and also to cultivate hope. Sometimes I feel like I’m only one doom scroll away from feeling as though we are descending into a dystopic apocalypse so I have found staying positive around this subject has become really important and a basic necessity. Some recent examples:
The Australian Institute for Marine Sciences found that the Great Barrier Reef - the largest coral reef system in the world - has naturally increased a small area by over a third, suggesting that repair is possible
Thailand has banned sunscreens that damage coral reefs
France has banned the destruction of unsold clothing and cosmetics
Here in the UK 1,000 bus shelter roofs are being turned into bee and butterfly gardens
In January 2023, the UK’s first ever multi-charity shop selling second hand goods and clothing opened at Brent Cross shopping centre, find out more on their website, Charity Supermkt here, or their Instagram account here
In London the pop-up Clothes Swap Shop operated by Love Not Landfill is back! Click the link to find locations near you
Sources: Blueland (Wednesday Wins), Climate in Colour (On The Brightside) and Rosie Okotcha
As I discover more I will continue to update the list below so keep checking back over time to see if any new people/ accounts have been added — if you know of anyone else doing this kind of thing please share in the comments.
Fashion Focused
Environment Focused
- on Substack (yey!) and her Instagram is here Climate In ColourI also want to point you toward the Fashion Reimagined website which is packed with resources and information. You can also sign up to their newsletter to receive regular updates. Their campaign #FashionOurFuture is another way of getting involved — dormant since the pandemic (and whilst Amy was having her daughter) it is relaunching in earnest this year.
I truly believe the tide is turning but if sustainable practices are to become mainstream not just within the clothing industry but every single human industry, the reality is they need to be profitable and in order for that to happen, they need to be in demand on a mass scale. So. If we all shifted our habits even just a little bit, collectively that would add up to the critical mass required to help create that small step-giant leap, massive cultural tipping point. Are you ready? Get started with this movie and I think you might be.
Let’s. GO.
Fashion Reimagined is also on general release in UK cinemas from March 3rd and available to stream on Sky Documentaries & Now TV from April 9th.
Keep the conversation going! What have you been watching and inspired by in the last couple of weeks?
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