Unique Minds 7: Fast Fashion Sucks

Alright, this week I've basically been locking down what artistic style I would like to go with jelno because I have so many different ideas I want to take the brand but want to get a consistent style that you associate with jelno. When I'm trying to come up with a new design I basically set aside a couple of hours and just sketch out some designs, but its risky because some days I just won't be able to think of anything and then I feel like I've just wasted hours when I could be doing something more important for the business. But its all a learning process, I'm still getting in that creative mindset to explore ideas- even if none of them make a design that I would be happy to put on a t-shirt

Its especially hard to create a design that appears to have a deeper meaning because you don't want the design to scream what it's supposed to mean- that would be too obvious, so you have to be subtle about it while making sure the design could be interpreted with the meaning you intended. It's easy to make a design that looks good but means nothing and put it on a t-shirt but it's hard to add meaning to that design which I think is what separates a good design from a great design.

I think I said last week that I was going to give my opinion on current brands and just fashion in general and im going to start that with fast fashion companies such as H&M, ZARA, Primark and Uniqlo.

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A couple of years ago I used to love H&M, they sell clothing which fits the current trends at half the price of any fashion brand. I couldn't wait to go into H&M to pick out a new tee or jeans or whatever because its not that big of a risk- if you buy a tee for say £6 its not as big of a deal if you wear it a couple of times and then decide you don't like it and never wear it again/ get rid of it. While if you buy a higher-end tee and decide you don't like it then you have wasted more money- the difference is that it's really hard to re-sell H&M clothes because the style has changed and most people just don't want to buy a used cheap item because they may as well get that item new. Which means lots of clothes from fast-fashion retailers end up in landfill. There have also been reports of fast fashion retailers destroying stock before a new season so the value of the clothes doesn't go down further, just think about that for a second, they don't even donate the clothes for people that most need it; they would prefer to just destroy it, creating even more useless waste. I also don't like how they effectively create designs that imitate and in some cases just copy the higher brands, and they do it in such a way that removes what made the original design special. You have to realize that fast fashion company's only real main purpose is to make money- there is no real passion or creativity in the stuff they make and decisions won't be made on what is ethically right or wrong, they will be made on what makes the most money. I mean this is the case with all companies really, but even big fashion companies like Adidas and Nike have passion behind them and the quality is generally good. I want decisions at jelno to be made not based on how much money it will bring in but based on what will inspire the most originality, creativity, and passion- along with a deep understanding of the ethics of producing clothing.

What I really like are places like eBay, depop, or even just charity shops. You can find unique pieces you really like at a low price- and even if you change your style or just decide you don't like what you bought, you can just sell it on again. It also prevents excess waste as your not buying the clothes new.

See you next week with another blog, if you have any interest at all in JELNO try and spread the word as much as possible it's a massive help <3

If you ever want to ask a question or just get in touch the Instagram is: @jelno_uk, email is: jelno.uk@gmail.com and you can always comment down below.

Have a good week ;)