ReGeneration With We The General Public

Suppose you could express your gratitude directly to the maker of a beautiful stitchwork piece of clothing that will last a lifetime. Imagine markets lined with handcrafted goods and high-quality handmade clothing, where you can slip your arms into a custom-tailored jacket and put your hard-earned money right into the hand of the hard-working artist. Consumer culture has the chance to focus on supporting this type of sustainable fashion practice, giving new life to the traditional craftsmanship of the seamstress. This also makes more space for artists, helps small businesses, and promotes a fun, expressive, and practical market for clothing, all while reducing the pressure on the natural environment.

Fashion For The Next Generation

We Are The General Public—a trendy and modern voice for the next gen of artists and fashionistas—are revolutionizing our perception of regeneration by championing local artists and craftspeople. This women-led non-profit is redefining the application of regenerative practices from art and agriculture to the fashion world. Joelle Provost and Coco Lee Regenerative Art & Fashion Gala served as a testimony to creativity. They brought designers together to showcase works of art that lie within the parameters of Earth's natural balance. The event featured thought-provoking art pieces on the walls of the San Francisco venue, with a catwalk positioned at the center of the room.

In the exploration of what regenerative fashion means to the next generation, journalist Valentina Scaife, sat down with the gala’s founders, Coco Fe Coco and Joelle Provost, to talk about the event, share stories, and get to the heart of what matters most in the regenerative fashion forefront.

Where to begin? In the words of Coco, “Instead of focusing on all the negatives, there are so many positive things people are doing, focusing their time and energy and resources and their lives to improving climate conditions, but that gets drowned out by the fear and the guilt, and the finger pointing, and the doomsday talk.”

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The Sunny Side Of Sustainability

Shifting economic culture patterns is about inspiration, breaking away from that doomsday mentality and turning off autopilot in our daily decision-making. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by the state of the world, we can turn our focus to artists and other leaders removing barriers that exist in our path towards sustainability.

Letting the bad drown out the good minimizes the power of world-altering work already happening. "It's called perception bias when you're so focused on the negative. You start to believe that's where the world is, but the world is so colorful," Joelle explained. There is a sunny side to this seemingly dark narrative that we often overlook. There are people who are designing and creating within nature's boundaries, and their work deserves much more recognition.

Coco stands up for the designers working hard behind the scenes, “A lot of these businesses need visibility. A lot of people just don't know they are out there. We really want to provide visibility to these businesses so they don't have to close their doors.”

"There are people who are designing and creating within nature's boundaries, and their work deserves much more recognition."

Women-led sustainable fashion events are helping to promote this shift. These events showcase the work of designers who use eco-friendly materials and the creation of sustainable capsule collections. They also provide a platform for collaboration of artists and makers alike, while supporting the regeneration of fashion.

At Oakland’s Piedmont Center for the Arts, The Regenerative Fashion Show showcased sustainable clothing brands including, but not limited to, Stache Fashion, Hargan Denim, and Vincent James. This show highlighted people already a part of the market style we wish to see in the fashion world.

Contradiction Is Built In

Unfortunately, seeking a sustainable lifestyle comes with unavoidable contradictions. We want to shop, but we want to make choices that support an honest and sustainable market.

Coco reinforces this notion, "A lot of people want a touch of luxury, but they want it to be ethical." From learning how to consume responsibly and trying to bridge luxury and accessibility, forks in the road seem inevitable.

There are consequences to every choice we make, and the reality is, perfection is unattainable. Joelle acknowledges this controversy of environmental idealism, “Just acknowledging our imperfections. We want you to be inspired, we don't want you to be perfect.” Nobody is asking anyone to always make the right choice, just to do the best you can with what you have. Valentina supports Joelle’s statement with the thought, “because imperfection is inclusive.” Both delivering messages with value.

"We can't sustain ourselves as we are right now. Can we make textiles based on flourishing ecosystems? Luxury and accessibility, can we marry those two?" says Joelle.

Questioning this is important in order not to leave anyone behind. Inclusivity is an essential part of a sustainable future. There is a market for a conscious fashion industry, but is it possible to expand the reach to everyone?  

Luxury and accessibility are two words that seem to contradict each other. Can we bridge the gap between the two and make luxury available to everyone? The question from a business perspective is: do we even want to blur the lines between luxury and accessibility? After all, isn't luxury supposed to be exclusive and rare, something only a select few can afford?

Making luxury more inclusive might be the wrong way to question it. Defining what luxury means is an essential piece of the puzzle. Luxury isn't always about having all the gold and adornments. It's about the sense of leisure and comfort in our lives that we all crave. It's worth asking ourselves if we are still pursuing the right idea of luxury and if we should rethink our approach to living a luxurious life. Instead of considering luxury and accessibility as opposing forces, we should reimagine them as one.