The Fashionista of the Month is a highly-coveted position at Needham High, and while we love to (and will be) getting some answers about pressing fashion questions from someone who always looks cool walking through the halls, this month we’ll also be hearing a bit about the fast fashion industry.
Our fashionista of the month is junior Kate Griffor, who is known for her fun and easy-going style and approach to life. Griffor is currently completing her AP Capstone research project on fast fashion, which, unlike her style, is not quite as fun. Unwittingly, many of us support fast fashion brands. As Kate will tell you, “‘disposable fashion’ makes up for 10% of the world’s landfills.” Additionally, “women and children in Bangladesh are being paid only a few cents to a dollar each day for producing thousands of garments per hour.” Many NHS students buy clothes from stores like Shein and Forever21 that are being cheaply and unethically made. As this ex-GAP employee well knows, it’s hard to avoid fast fashion. However, there are many alternatives, as Kate has described below:
“Our world is filled with so many mainstream brands and franchises that you wouldn’t typically think are ‘fast fashion’. Stores like Victoria’s Secret, and Zara, H&M, and UNIQLO are all examples. Unfortunately, fast fashion is such a booming industry because these brands sell their clothes for such cheap prices and can turn out new trends almost overnight. It can be hard to suddenly transfer where you are getting your clothes, so what can be really helpful is shopping at consignment stores that sell your favorite brands, for a bit cheaper even, lightly used. Although you are still representing the brand name, you are giving the clothing another life, so it does not end up in landfills and waste resources.”
Kate, much like the rest of us, did not always have a wealth of knowledge concerning the negative impacts of the fast fashion industry. When posed the question of if she has previously shopped fast fashion, her response was “Yes, I have been shopping fast fashion for probably the majority of my life. Not that I have ever done it intentionally; it is just such a silenced issue that it is challenging to know what brands use these fast fashion practices.” Kate chose this topic for her AP Capstone research study, saying that it was a subject she did not know much about.
“Over the last few years, I have found myself more and more interested in the world of fashion, so I found it important to learn about some of the unethical and unenvironmental practices that take place within this industry. I have learned so much about what is wrong with the fashion industry, and how we as consumers can change that. This issue is so under the rug still, so it is so important to spread awareness and confront the brands who practice ‘fast fashion’ with the harmful things that they are tolerating.”
And Kate is doing just that! In her project, she is “working to discover whether fashion consuming upper-class students at NHS would be more ethically or environmentally concerned about the global fast fashion crisis after watching a short clip.”
If you’re an upperclassman at Needham High, you can help Kate out with her research by clicking the link to the applicable survey (Last name A-K, Last name L-Z). If you’re not an upperclassmen, or even an NHS student, but are interested in learning more, here’s the informative video that Kate is using in her survey:
Now, let’s learn a bit more about our fashionista’s style!
What’s your favorite place to shop?
I have been shopping second hand consignment a lot lately. My favorite place is called “Revolve.” I recommend it to anyone. It has the best brands and I score something sooo cool everytime I go. There's one in Newton, Boston, Belmont, and Winchester.
How would you describe your style?
Inconsistent. I definitely change my style almost monthly. I don't think I could even categorize my style, I just put some things together and experiment whenever I can!
What’s your usual process for picking out an outfit?
In normal times, I would pick out outfits even weeks before and choose which ones to wear based on what I am doing that day (what classes I have, what I am doing after school, if there's a test or not). I know that sounds crazy but I actually think about it a lot; I never want to waste a good outfit on the wrong day. Lately, I either pick it out the night before or I wake up a bit early and put some things together until I find something I feel good in. Oftentimes it can be as simple as finding a pair of fun shoes, a cool jacket, or a sick pair of pants to spice up an outfit. I really like neutrals and basic staples that you can make cool with one or two things. Also, finding your colors are SO IMPORTANT to figuring out what’s going to look good on you. White is just not my color in the winter and I have to accept that.
What celebrity/fashion brand do you look up to the most?
I am really into Alice and Olivia, Aritzia, Rag and Bone, Free People, and Anthropologie. Very contemporary styles
And, obviously, no fashionista of the month article would be complete without some silly questions that really delve into the character of our chosen one. You can learn so much about an individual from their second favorite color!
What is your least favorite ice cream flavor?
I know this is crazy, but chocolate.
If you had to be an animal what animal would you want to be?
I would want to be a tiger because they absolutely dominate and they are BEAUTIFUL
Second favorite color?
Black because it goes with everything and represents boldness.
What’s your burrito order?
I get either a bowl with steak and beans, brown rice, lettuce, sour cream, GUAC, salsa, cheese, and onions, or a cheese quesadilla when my body can’t take all of that hahaha.
If you could go on vacation anywhere in the world where would you go?
I would go to either somewhere in Africa, or to Monaco, which is a fancy French speaking country with the prettiest beaches.
What reality TV show would you want to be on?
KEEPING UP WITH THE KARDASHIANS!