What I Learned from Reading 100 Fashion Headlines This Month
This week is about looking beyond the noise—and finding signal.
In reading over 100 fashion and sustainability headlines this month for this newsletter, I noticed more than just industry trends. I noticed a shift in tone, intention, and tension. From biomaterial breakthroughs to fast fashion rebrands, the landscape is rapidly evolving, but not always in the ways we hope.
This edition is an attempt to step back and stitch meaning from the blur. It’s inspired by the quiet strength of designers like Phoebe English, who keep showing us that fashion can be thoughtful, not just fast.
1. The Circular Promise, Still Fraying at the Edges
Circularity is having a PR moment. This month alone, we saw:
Vestiaire Collective’s campaign for anti-fast fashion legislation
Refiberd winning eBay's Circular Fashion Innovator of the Year
But we also saw tragedy: a devastating fire at Ghana's Kantamanto Market, one of the world's biggest secondhand clothing hubs. A stark reminder that circularity without equity isn't enough.
2. Biomaterials Are Having a Moment. But At What Cost?
Materials like Lunaform and MycoWorks' Reishi leather are being scaled up. Fashion tech is bullish, and so are the investors.
Yet the questions linger:
Is it truly regenerative?
What happens at end-of-life?
Who's left out of the material innovation story?
Gabriela Hearst is one of the few voices asking these deeper questions, continuing to center purpose, not product.
3. The Rebrand Era: Pretty Words, Shaky Promises
Shein IPO confirmed
Rebrand is the new marketing strategy. But are these really transformations? Or just different costumes on the same old mannequin?
In contrast: E.L.V. Denim expanded their upcycled line into eveningwear. That feels like evolution.
4. Resale Is Rising. But It's Also A Refuge.
Apps like https://gem.app are making secondhand seamless. Resale platforms are expanding. Lorna Jane just launched her own. Or a Digital Wardrobe Assistant like Future Reference.
But for many of us, resale isn't a trend. It's:
Memory
Protest
Care
It's how we reject disposability and return to craft.
5. People Still Matter Most
Beyond all the innovation, this month's real milestone was the Fashion Workers Act signed into law in New York.
It protects:
Models from AI impersonation
Freelancers from exploitation
Creatives from wage theft
If sustainability isn’t intersectional, it’s just another buzzword.
Final Threads
Reading 100 headlines didn’t make me an expert. But it gave me a feeling that we’re in a messy, imperfect, necessary shift.
We need both the slow stitch and the sharp cut. The spreadsheets and the soil. The legacy brands waking up, and the Gen Z creators building new paths.
Fashion’s future won’t be a single headline. It’ll be a patchwork.
Let’s keep threading it together.
If you enjoyed this reflection, please forward it to a friend or share a favorite insight on Instagram or Substack Notes.
Thank you for being here. ✨
With love,
Vera