In a society where time is equated with money and slowing down appears all but obsolete, our insatiable appetite for speed has infiltrated almost every facet of our lives from our diet to our style. The prevalent notions of fast-food and fast-fashion have turned our culture into that of maximalism and overconsumption, all at a very great cost to our environment. However, many consumers and designers have recently turned to more sustainable alternatives with the ever increasing awareness of the unethical practices that facilitate this rapid consumerism. The Food & Fashion exhibit at FIT, for instance, has made a clear response through its slow food and slow fashion motif (part of the bigger slow movement), urging us to reevaluate our relationship with the products we buy and the food that we consume and, in doing so, consider the implications these choices have on our environment, society, and well-being.
One such piece that caught my attention was a simple black t-shirt with “This tee is made from milk” written on it. As the name suggests, the t-shirt is partly composed of a spoiled milk protein extracted through the use of biotechnology. Although the concept of wearing rotten milk is a bit unsettling at first, it has the potential to address the millions of food-waste we generate annually if adopted more widely by the fashion industry. Similarly, Mimi Prober’s avocado and pomegranate-dyed collection replaces toxic textile dyes with natural alternatives. These innovative approaches to repurposing food-waste into our clothes and implementing environmentally friendly materials are just a few of the ways designers have attempted to slow down the unsustainable pace of the fast-fashion industry. However, I found it quite interesting that the exhibition also included many fast-food inspired outfits in the first room, such as the Mcdonalds and White Castle uniforms, as if to provide juxtaposition and perhaps showcase fashion’s ability to convey both sides of the complex issue.
The gallery also comments on the contrasting roles technology assumes within the fashion and food industry. On one hand, it has allowed us to mass-produce clothes and food to an unprecedented scale through the invent of industrialization. Yet on the other, it has become a catalyst for positive change towards sustainable practices. Ultimately, the very technology that has contributed to the fast-paced culture of our world must now play a role in slowing it down.
I didn’t take much notice of the black t-shirt with “This tee is made from milk” written on it, but it’s fascinating to learn that that shirt was actually made from milk. As you mentioned, food waste is a major problem in America, and to be able to repurpose rotten milk into clothes is a total game changer. Now I am more curious as to whether the texture of the milk shirt is the same as clothes made out of cloth.