The latest edition of FashMash Pioneers looked at the future of fashion creativity with Sarah Mower MBE.
The chief critic for Vogue Runway and the British Fashion Council's ambassador for emerging talent covered everything from fashion week to localism. In conversation with Rosanna Falconer, the duo explore how sustainability is integral to the ethos of young designers, why established brands can learn from such emerging names and what Sarah's hopes are for the future of the industry in light of what COVID-19 has brought.
You can watch the full interview back via YouTube above. Here are some of our favourite quotes in the meantime:
ON FASHION
"The idea of what fashion is - its glossiness and distance - has broken down. Anything that looks pretend or fake is not attractive anymore."
ON NEW AMBITIONS
"I think ambition has changed. I think young people look at what has happened to those older than them and realised maybe that's not what they want thanks to the churn of creative directors at fashion houses. I find it very hard to report on the speed of those changeovers. It always seems like you don't have time to do anything before you're got rid of."
ON FASHION WEEK
"For the whole of fashion, getting rid of the addiction to the catwalk has to be a good thing. I'm not sweeping fashion week away, there will be gatherings, but gatherings of a different sort... The idea of packing together eight shows a day doesn't make sense in terms of having the attention of people anymore. Also I feel that designers should only do what they really believe in. When they have something to say, make it an event - not even every six months, maybe just every year. Whenever you feel like it."
ON POST PANDEMIC
"What is post pandemic? And what's normal? I don't think we want normality if we're going to return to what 2019 was. The thing that has stuck in my mind is people that have done things differently. Business-as-usual is what's forgettable."
FashMash Pioneers is sponsored by Klaviyo.