How Climate Change Impacts Fashion; Shift Toward Season-less Dressing
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The past few weeks has had New Yorkers in a conundrum about how to dress.
The Indian summer that is taking place allows people to keep their warm season gear in their current wardrobe and extend it’s use.
Walking the streets of NY this past weekend one would hardly notice we are in Autumn. It was in the 80’s when the ice skating rink opened in Rockefeller Center this past Saturday. All across the city shorts and tee’s ruled the sidewalks. It’s virtually ridiculous to wear any truly fall garments.
The best things to wear now are lightweight garments. My cashmere knits (always in) have been getting alot of miles recently. A lightweight cashmere v-neck or cardigan can be layered up with button-ups or T-shirts. Or if it’s a warm night nothing beats the feel of cashmere against the skin.
An article in Australia’s The Age illustrates this shift in fashion.
“There’s really no such thing as defined autumn/winter and spring/summer collections any more…It’s all about lightweight garments that you can wear all year round and layering now… and it’s something I think we are only going to see more of.” says Margaret Porritt, of Melbourne fashion label Feathers.
This shift in the way we dress will impact fashion at all levels from manufacturing to collection presentations to the retail level. Since their are no strict boundaries between Fall/Winter or Spring/Summer clothing, with the exception of heavy woolen coats or hot pants. Savvy consumers are realizing this buying clothing that they can get more mileage out of.
“The whole fashion system will have to change,” Beppe Modenese, founder of Milan Fashion Week, told The New York Times last week. “The fashion system must adapt to the reality that there is no strong difference between summer and winter any more… You can’t have everyone showing four times a year to present the same thing. People are not prepared to invest in these clothes that, from one season to the other, use the same fabrics at the same weight.”
It’s great for consumers since we no longer have to pack up and move to storage our entire wardrobe until next season. By mixing and layering different looks our clothing purchases become more valuable.
[earlier]
Fashion warms to the reality of climate change [The Age]
The past few weeks has had New Yorkers in a conundrum about how to dress. The Indian summer that is taking place allows people to keep their warm season gear in their current wardrobe and extend it's use. Walking the streets of NY this past weekend one would hardly notice we are in Autumn. It was in the 80's when the ice skating rink opened in Rockefeller Center this past Saturday. All across the city shorts and tee's ruled the sidewalks. ... Read More
