INTERVIEW – French designer: Slow fashion, or when your own clothes become cult objects

Careful, experimental use of one’s own wardrobe, an emphasis on quality, and conscious purchasing that leads to an emotional connection with the garment are some of the recommendations made by designer Darja Richter-Widhoff in a curatorial interview on reducing consumption.

She points out that education from an early age makes it increasingly difficult for companies to engage in deceptive practices by promoting their products or practices as environmentally friendly.

Furthermore, Richter-Widhoff states that artificial intelligence paves the way for greater sustainability in the fashion industry, and designers can influence 80% of a product’s impact through their vision during the design phase.

Darja Richter-Widhoff is a fashion designer, teacher, and researcher. Born in 1965, she studied at the Berlin University of the Arts, where she developed a strong interest in materiality and fabric as a medium for experimentation and storytelling. After moving to France in 1993, Richter became Martine Sitbon’s assistant and soon launched her own brand. In 1997, she won the prestigious ANDAM award.

Passionate about innovation and research in fashion and textile design, she has developed numerous collections for her eponymous brand, as well as for other fashion houses, including Versace (1998), Maison Leonard (2003), and Paul Smith (2009).

She is currently a professor at EnsAD and co-director of the ENAMOMA-PSL multidisciplinary master’s program “Fashion & Materials,” which trains future actors in the fields of design, management, and engineering with the aim of supporting ecological, social, and technological transition in the world of fashion and materials.

This summer, she participated in the 14th edition of Rencontres européennes de Transylvanie, organized by the French Embassy in Romania and the French Institute in Romania, in Sibiu, under the title “Speeding Up Slow Fashion” as part of Feeric Fashion Week.

How to reach a balance between fast fashion and sustainability?

Darja Richter-Widhoff: We are living in a time of great change. This is not the first time this has happened, but there is one key difference: speed.

Everything seems within reach and immediately accessible. This shifts our values and expectations, creating a sense of being in a perpetual sprint. We are in a state of hypocritical tension that needs to be alleviated.

To reconcile fast fashion with sustainability, we must act on multiple fronts. More responsible practices must be introduced, such as using environmentally friendly and socially equitable materials and production processes, reducing waste and implementing circular models that include new services such as repairability and recyclability.

Education and legislation are crucial for raising awareness and provoking actions.

Is it possible to accelerate slow fashion without compromising its core values?

Darja Richter-Widhoff: Slow fashion is a concept that stands in contrast to fast fashion and is part of the slow movement, which has also developed in other areas of life and consumption. This movement advocates manufacturing that respects the environment, animals, and the people involved in the production chain. The focus is on brand practices and consumer purchasing behavior. The goal is to reduce consumption and production and adopt alternative practices, involving the use of sustainable methods and materials throughout the product life cycle. This aims to preserve craftsmanship, support local artisans and protect the environment, ultimately creating added value for consumers and producers. At its core, it is about a more conscious and thoughtful approach to fashion, where quality takes precedence over quantity and the conscious act of purchasing leads to a more emotional connection with the garment and, in turn, to a more sustainable world.

Could it lead to an increase in consumption isn’t that a contradiction?

Darja Richter-Widhoff: It is important to understand that the clothing and textile industry is a very significant industry worldwide. Everyone needs clothing, including a wide variety of different types. Clothing is a direct means of expression and regulates communication between our inner world and the outside world in a reciprocal relationship.

Innovations and new forms of clothing are therefore an important factor for further development and can be vectors for decisive positive changes in society. In this sense, slow fashion is first and foremost a social movement that has been taken up by committed individuals, designers and industry with the aim of improving practices and bringing about a transition of the system.

Does accelerating slow fasion risk turning this concept into a new kind of greenwashing?

Darja Richter-Widhoff: In a world where truth is constantly disregarded and fake news is celebrated, it is not surprising that ethical, social and committed values are also misused. Education is crucial here and should start in kindergarten. If children understand the importance of cycles and the preciousness of seeds, plants and raw materials, then greenwashing will become increasingly difficult.

How can the work ethic be preserved in a faster production of sustainable fashion?

Darja Richter-Widhoff: Fast fashion models are based on the exploitation of resources, so we must work towards systemic change, embrace slow fashion and reject excessive consumption. It is crucial to understand the true price of a garment, which must be fairly shared by everyone involved in its production. It is a question of responsibility and redistribution, new working methods, corporate concepts and transparency about products. Fashion is not inherently destructive; on the contrary, it should make people feel good and encourage them to explore new territory.

Who would benefit most from a slow fashion acceleration – consumers, brands or the planet?

Darja Richter-Widhoff: Definitely everyone, including a new industry based on circularity at all levels. New business models are emerging, both in industry in relation to raw materials, recycling and new materials research, and in services such as the repairability, convertibility and reinterpretability of our (beloved) garments.

We should all learn to make better use of our wardrobes, experiment with our clothes and embrace our inner desires. A piece that is worn in different ways, repaired, personalized and reinterpreted becomes a unique trophy – a personal cult object.

What role do new technologies play in “Speeding Up Slow Fashion”?

Darja Richter-Widhoff: characterized by greater efficiency, optimized processes, higher product quality, and reduced resource consumption throughout the entire production lifecycle. Artificial intelligence is paving the way for greater sustainability and transparency in the fashion industry. AI tools can predict market situations more accurately, reducing overproduction. They can also create designs based on input criteria and reduce fabric consumption, thereby minimizing waste and the need for multiple physical prototypes while improving production processes.

AI enables a completely different approach to design and the human body, leading to experimentation with new volumes, shapes and proportions. The fields of sport and health are equally important in developing new concepts where measurability and special protection are becoming crucial in our fragile world.

Biomaterials are at the forefront of new developments, such as the creation of threadless materials and new aesthetics, as well as the question of composability and experimentation with ephemeral garments. This involves replacing materials such as plastic or leather, but also introducing entirely new principles and approaches that challenge our current practices.

All these developments are important for positive change, helping to speed up consciousness and encourage better practices, as well as the transformation of the system through innovation, new visions and aesthetics.

What is the role of the designer in sustainable fashion today?

Darja Richter-Widhoff: Above all, a designer should be characterized by a visionary and broad perspective, combining creative propositions with the intention of making a positive impact through the product. The decisive questions are: who do I want to reach with my creations? What means are necessary to achieve this? And what consequences will they have? Designers must therefore consider the consequences of their creations, using them as a source of inspiration to develop new, more sustainable practices. Respecting the experience and knowledge of co-workers and experts, and collaborating with them to find new solutions, is crucial.

Creativity remains central: our most important skill is creativity, and we should not limit how we use it. However, it can take on completely new forms in the process.

Designers can influence 80% of a product’s impact through their vision at the design stage.

Photos courtesy of designer Darja Richter-Widhoff