This month’s style buzzword is “renewal” as we welcome Second Hand September, Slow Fashion September, #SEWtember and Sustainable Fashion Week.
There are myriad events offering the opportunity to style up, partake in or follow online!
For the first time resale platform eBay, in partnership with the Council of Fashion Designers of America and British Fashion Council, is set to debut its inaugural Pre-Loved Fashion Week with live shoppable runway shows in New York and London preceding the official Spring/Summer 2025 fashion week collections.
The shows will feature pre-owned designer pieces from brands such as Christopher Kane and Simone Rocha.
Sustainable Fashion Week 2024 is spreading out across the UK (and beyond!) with what it describes as “an explosion of community action” using the hashtag #PowerOfRepair.
Closer to home Designer Wardrobe has teamed up with Dress for Success Auckland to host a Celebrity Designer Wardrobe Sale for Second Hand September.
The sale, which will run from September 16 to 30, will feature pre-loved pieces from global designer brands such as Gucci and Chloe, alongside New Zealand designers including Karen Walker and Trelise Cooper – all donated by some of New Zealand’s most well-known celebrities including Hilary Barry, famous for her ‘Formal Friday’ lockdown outfits. Proceeds from the sale will go to Dress for Success.
“Together, with the help of some well-known celebrities, we want to collectively highlight why buying pre-loved fashion offers a smarter way to shop,” says Designer Wardrobe CEO Aidan Bartlett.
Collector’s Anonymous – Aotearoa’s guide to antique, vintage, second-hand and charity stores – has just launched a free-to-download app and a series of regional mini guides to coincide with the launch of Waikato District Council’s #Sewtember and Waipā District Council’s Slow Fashion September campaigns.
“The app has been a goal of ours since we first started publishing the print version of Collectors Anonymous in 2020. It is the perfect accompaniment to our printed guide and is all about making it even easier and more enjoyable to shop second-hand and engage actively in the growing circular and zero waste economies,” says Collectors Anonymous publisher Matt Wiseman.
Waikato District Council has partnered with Collectors Anonymous to produce a regional mini guide and are leading the launch of the app to kick off their SEWtember campaign which runs from now until September 28.
“Anything that helps keep fabric waste specifically out of landfill, is great in my book,” says Sally Fraser, Waste Services Manager from Waikato District Council. “Launching this app is just the start of our SEWtember month, which is celebrating all things sewing repair, reuse and slow fashion.”
Waikato District Council are promoting hosted online and in person events like Repair Cafes, “make up your own sewing kit”, learn to sew events and op shop tours.
The Waipā District Council Waste Minimisation Team have planned a range of fun, informative and interactive events on September 10, 20 and 21 to celebrate sustainable fashion in Waipā.
“You can join the Sustainable fashion online course and the Online Sewing Repair Workshop for free and from the comfort of your own home and the super popular Op shop bus tours are back for a third year,” says Shelley Wilson, Waste Minimisation Advisor for Waipā District Council.
This year marks Waipā’s third edition of their printed Collectors Anonymous x Zero Waste Waipā Field Guide, which includes a directory of all second-hand stores, markets, zero waste initiatives and locations where you can purchase goods package-free in the district.
To celebrate all things circular in September, Fashion Revolution NZ is also releasing on online blog series of interviews with second-hand store owners from September 13.
“We want to highlight the awesome work that these small local business owners are doing to reduce clothing waste and bring curated collections of quality second-hand clothes to their communities – it’s all part of the fashion revolution,” says Fashion Revolution country coordinator Amanda Butterworth.
In Christchurch join Repair Revolution on September 17. The event is not strictly just fashion though covers clothes, stuck zippers and shoe repairs as well as sunglasses, jewellery, furniture, lamps, ceramics, headphones, cables, toys and more!
If you’re in Dunedin check out the Vintage Clothing Market on September 28 and Slow Fashion September events on September 21 and 28 which include a Re-Fashion Workshop, Slow Fashion Seminar and Pre-Loved Wedding Fashion Show.
The recently released Threads of Tomorrow report by Mindful Fashion reported that approximately 74 thousand tonnes of clothing are consumed in New Zealand each year and 52 thousand tonnes sent to landfill.
UK charity Oxfam, who introduced Second Hand September in 2019, found that buying one pair of jeans and a T-shirt second-hand could help save the equivalent of 20,000 standard bottles of water.
