The budding designer on her creative process, company values, and paving the way for other young artists.
According to the Business Research Company, the ethical fashion industry is currently worth over $6.35 billion, a number that is predicted to almost triple in less than a decade. Among the young designers ushering in industry change is Kemi Gbadebo. The South England-native founded the sustainable clothing brand Gbadebo back in 2020. Gbadebo specializes in pants and tops made out of deadstock fabrics. Targeting anyone with “a quirky style interested in helping support sustainable fashion,” Gbadebo is passionate about sharing her mission with others.
“My company as a whole gives people the ability to see treasures in others’ trash, rather than binning old clothes, more and more people are donating and recycling because they truly believe in my mission of revamping old clothes into new and exciting fashion ideas,” says Gbadebo over Instagram direct message.
Gbadebo is determined to change the way we buy and sell clothes, making pieces from unwanted and surplus fabric donated to her company. But she’s hardly alone. She is part of an army of thousands of independent sellers that founded their companies on sustainability measures and sell their clothing on third-party sites like Depop.
Designers are leading the charge to create more sustainable fashion from around the globe. Instead of adding more waste to the world, these designers focus on giving old items new life to avoid ending up in landfills. For example, sustainable fashion brand Haram With Sugar makes colorful neon corset tops out of old sneakers. Many of her looks have been photographed in magazine editorials in her hometown of Berlin. Elsewhere, LA-based designer Don Kaka employs non-uniform stitching and unconventional fabrics to create unusual designs. He turned an old fireproof military blanket into a hoodie for his first collection.
The greatest push for change has come out of Depop, founded on operating as a sustainable e-commerce platform. With ninety percent of the app’s users under 26, it’s no wonder sustainable designers have found a natural home on Depop. Unlike other selling sites, Gbadebo shares that Depop “prides itself on being sustainable and consistently promotes important topics like BLM, which is a movement I myself am fighting for.”
“I love how with sustainable fashion you can take pre-loved clothing items and reinvent them into something new all while limiting the amount of waste there is,” says Gbadebo, whose creation process is as unique as the pieces that she produces. She selects the wanted portions of fabric from the bulk, experiments with different fabric formations, and when she’s happy with the blocking, she sews it all together. She lets her fabric scraps lead rather than having a predesigned drawing or design. Her clothes have a refreshing distinctiveness and vibrance, making them stand out against fast fashion’s homogeneity.
While there is still a long way to go, small steps by the fashion industry may be the key to creating a world where fashion promotes the planet’s health. If these young designers are any indication of what the future holds, it’s looking good.
“In a perfect world, the fashion industry will be a fairer and more just place. Big companies such as PLT, Boohoo, and Missguided will pay their workers above minimum wage, and more designers will move toward recycling fabrics. We need to stop supporting companies that aren’t willing to stand up for certain movements and start supporting more conscientious brands that take responsibility for their actions,” Gbadebo says.
Images courtesy of Gbadebo
