Reason to Love Vancouver #20: Because Our Slow Fashion Scene Is Growing Fast

Slow fashion focuses on quality over quantity, puts an emphasis on ethical and environmentally gentle production practices and promotes conscious consumption. It encourages us to build style around enduring classics and hold onto treasured statement pieces for years to come. With a surge of talented creatives pushing for much-needed change in the fashion industry, the slow fashion scene here in Vancouver is at a crest. The need to reflect on consumer habits is at an all-time high, and with a bold range of genres to choose from within the slow fashion sphere—from plant-based couture to high streetwear—there couldn’t be a better time to turn toward local, sustainable brands.

Vestige

What happens when an English literature major with visually poetic sensibilities creates a slow fashion label? Aileen Lee brings narrative clothing made with conscious textiles. The label’s made-to-order pieces are both boldly elegant and quietly enchanting: lifestyle artifacts you’d wear in a sun-dappled pottery studio or dusky garden.

Harly Jae

These feminine, multi-season silhouettes are inspired by a sense of nostalgia and an appreciation for well-made vintage fashion. See: sweet gingham nightgowns and prairie plaid blouses. Sometimes made from deadstock fabrics, Harly Jae garments give that same feeling of discovering that your mom’s loveliest piece from the past now fits you perfectly.

James Coward

This collaborative project crafts subtle, well-proportioned, gracefully masculine wearables. Produced in small batches and carried by select stockists, James Coward is the skillfully cool antithesis to mass-produced menswear.

Outlaws

Slow fashion isn’t often associated with high streetwear, but Outlaws is a rebellious brand that fits the bill. Limited edition, unisex collections with names like “To Whom It May Concern” and “Last Night in Paradise” feel enigmatic, like being in on a secret, and have gained a local cult following. Expect bomber jackets with futuristic undertones and bandit-emblazoned ball caps.

Find more Reasons to Love Vancouver here.