Four RMIT alum creating a future free of fast fashion

Meet the creatives who are redesigning the narrative of the fashion industry.

The negative impacts of fast fashion - from growing waste to fueling carbon emissions - are overwhelming. The average Australian buys 56 new items of clothing every year, and most of these clothes are made from non-sustainable and non-durable materials.1

RMIT takes the problems surrounding fast fashion seriously and has always prioritised a sustainable approach to teaching and research, earning a ranking in the top five global universities for sustainability impact.

Through RMIT’s fashion offerings, including the newly revamped Bachelor in Fashion and Textiles (Sustainable Innovation), students are encouraged to approach creative practices with environmental, social and ethical principles at top of mind.

That commitment extends through RMIT’s alumni network, too. Here, we meet four RMIT alum who are determined to rewrite the narrative of the fashion industry.

All are listed in the newly launched RMIT Alumni Business Directory, which has more than 300 listings in a wide range of industries and skill specialties. The directory not only showcases RMIT alum, but offers discounts and promotions exclusively for other RMIT alum.

A creative outlet becomes fashion with a purpose

Blake Hillebrand began his fashion journey by dabbling in the industry as a creative outlet. He graduated from RMIT with a Bachelor of Architectural Design and is currently studying a Master of Architecture.

Blake became interested in producing clothing made with recycled materials by employing slow fashion principles of small collections, limited runs and locally designed pieces made with care. With co-founder, Jeremy Finkelstein, the baru label was born.

“Our goal was to prioritise recycled, high-quality materials and avoid contributing to the fast fashion cycle, which is characterised by overproduction and overconsumption,” Blake explained.

As Blake and Jeremy began investing in baru they learned more about sourcing and production, and it opened their eyes to the root causes of fast fashion.

“As we researched further, we became acutely aware of how pervasive waste and overconsumption are in the industry, particularly when brands prioritise volume and profits over aiming to tackle a social purpose,” Blake said.

Baru clothing is made from recycled or sustainably sourced materials. Blake said he is proud his brand offers an alternative.

“When we started this journey into sustainable fashion, we faced countless challenges trying to prioritise the environment over profit,” he said.

“We’ve learned a lot along the way and, hopefully, have inspired others to think more consciously about their choices.”

Creating change through fashion

Fashion was always Annie McLary’s passion, so she was naturally led to RMIT’s fashion degrees. She studied both an Associate Degree in Fashion Design and Technology, and a Bachelor of Fashion (Design Technology) at RMIT.

While she was studying, Annie became aware of the extent of fashion’s contribution to climate change. It drove her to create change.

“I had some awareness of the fashion industry being a major contributor to environmental waste, but had little knowledge of the extent of the impact on the climate, water and land,” she said.

“It is absolutely shocking to think about how much the fashion industry produces in waste, the amount of global carbon emissions that it is responsible for and the water pollution.”

The range of conceptual, practical and creative skills she learned during her studies have underpinned her business, days of grace. The brand is an ethically conscious and socially responsible line of clothing specialising in unique garments.

“Each piece in the collections is made to order and thoughtfully manufactured by a skilled team of machinists in Melbourne,” Annie explained.

“Manufacturing products close to home reduces the climate impact of long-distance shipping. We use lower impact materials including natural and or deadstock fabrics.”

Annie said she’s constantly on the lookout for new and emerging methods of improving sustainability within fashion.

“I think that there is more that can be done as there are always ways to improve a small business and its environmental impact.”

A tiny brand making a big difference

Before moving to Melbourne to complete a Bachelor of Fashion Design (Honours) at RMIT, Zoe May was studying environmental journalism, so she was already aware of the fashion industry’s battle with waste.

It informed her decision to set up a small knitwear label, Zoe May, dedicated to producing a limited number of garments to order.

“Knitting is one of the few garment construction techniques that are zero waste,” she explained.

“My pieces are made to order, so a garment is only produced once sold.”

Zoe’s business focuses on using recycled yarn sourced from Australian textile brand Dempstah, which creates cotton and wool blends from unwanted clothing and homewares supplied by Salvos Stores.

“I have a collection of vintage, remnant and deadstock yarn cones - amounts that are too small to produce a full garment or size run - and have a few designs intended for using up small scraps,” she said.

Her efforts might be tiny when viewed on a global scale, but Zoe knows she’s part of a new generation of fashion graduates working towards a better future.

“A while ago I heard someone say, ‘The world doesn’t need another tiny brand with a capsule collection’ and when I heard this I realised, maybe it actually does,” she said.

“Maybe millions of tiny little brands are better than hundreds of enormous ones.”

Sustainability solutions for fashion labels

After seven years of working with major fashion retailers, Laura Lana became frustrated with the industry’s lack of sustainable practices. It spurred her on to create her own fashion label, Laura Lana Creative.

“I wanted to start my business where I could provide solutions for people who wanted to create something that was smaller scale, a bit more considered in the design approach, and also in terms of sustainability, so that's how it started and it was design and manufacturing mainly,” Laura said.

During the COVID pandemic, Laura saw the number of local fashion brands boom. But that trend dissipated once COVID restrictions were lifted, prompting Laura to turn to providing sustainability solutions for small textile brands.

“I wanted to shift the focus to providing solutions for sustainable practice, whether that's through designing with the sustainable conscious or solving problems where issues have occurred in production,” she said.

Laura graduated from RMIT with a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment, which has helped her educate others in the fashion trade. She has worked with the City of Yarra and initiatives such as Thread Together to help fashion creators move away from fast fashion and repurpose excess textiles.

With the same creativity they use to design unique clothing, these RMIT alumni are forging new paths away from overproduction. By reimagining fast fashion, they are part of a sustainable and innovative way forward.

Story: Kate Jones

¹ Australian Fashion Council, Global Scan Report 2022 and Clothing Data Report 2022

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