Melbourne Fashion Week: How to Save the Planet in Style

Melbourne Fashion Week offers ten sumptuous days of fashionable fun in Australia’s cultural capital. We love the fact that a week in the fashion world equals more than seven days – this temporal trick gives us extra time to soak up all the stylish offerings at MFW. 

If you’re a connoisseur of couture, you may have already stepped out to see Vogue or Strateas Carlucci take over the runways. While we adore the dark and moody androgynous designs of Strateas Carlucci and the crisp contrast struck by Vogue’s lighter palette, we must admit, there’s another Melbourne Fashion Week event that’s got an edge on these two incredible runway shows. 

Sustainable Fashion @ the Future from Waste Lab

The Future from Waste Lab has been opening its doors all throughout MFW, and it truly feels like a laboratory environment. Within its walls, you will find a talented team of designers transforming scraps of clothing rescued from landfill into stunning new garments. 

It may sound wild to wear clothes that were once languishing in landfill. However, a tour through the lab reveals a lengthy process of hygienically cleaning and expertly handling every item through its ascendence from landfill fodder to runway-worthy couture. This eco-friendly approach to high fashion is also 100% on-trend. 

Circular fashion is growing faster than fast fashion

According to recent research conducted by ThreadUp, the secondhand market will be valued at $64-billion within the next five years. By 2029, the sector is set to outstrip its most formidable competitor – fast fashion. 

This is likely why trend-leading Aussie brands like Romance Was Born, KITX, and Art Club by Heidi Middleton have contributed their talents to the Future from Waste Lab. It’s also a critical step in shutting down the unethical practices so often hidden within the obfuscated supply chains of fast fashion brands. 

Eco-friendly fashion at fast-fashion prices? 

By recycling and repurposing materials that are already in circulation – or better yet, materials that have been discarded as waste – the circular fashion industry is able to drastically reduce costs that otherwise place eco-conscious fashion out of reach for many customers. The fashion trend itself is already serving the planet by repurposing landfill and reducing production demands. However, as it brings eco-friendly fashion down to fast-fashion prices, the benefits are set to compound – for the planet and for the people who call it home.  

The Future from Waste Lab will be opening its doors on Wednesday March 9th and Saturday March 12th as part of Melbourne Fashion Week 2022.