Fast Fashion is making us want more, spend more and waste more. Accessibility through low costs and an abundance of styles has boosted our need for newness. We’re topping up our wardrobes at an expedient rate. It taps into our need for conformity and our desire for self-expression. But at what cost to our mental health? The ripples of fast fashion were first felt in the 1990s. But the boom of quick production for short-lived bouts of self expression didn’t hit until the 20

I’d be lying if I said that I haven’t been a victim of the fast fashion trap. If I said it’s easy to get out of I’d also be lying. It isn’t. And to an extent my mind is still entangled in it all. It’s not fast fashion itself that causes us problems. The way it’s promoted, the way it’s sold to us. It’s not just pretty clothing – it’s a need. When I was around 12 years old, I started watching YouTube videos. My favourite videos to watch were hauls. I would watch in awe as the

Fast fashion is making us want more, spend more and waste more. Accessibility through low costs and an abundance of styles has boosted our need for newness and we’re topping up on our wardrobes at an expedient rate. It taps into our need for conformity and our desire for self-expression, but at what cost to our mental health? Who am I? Who are you? How do you show the world who you are through the medium of fashion, whilst at the same time being compliant to current and ever-